Scenic Navy Pier has been a consistent destination for both residents and tourists over the years, but since its $150 million renovation began in 1994, it has become the Midwest's #1 attraction.
Navy Pier was originally the brainchild of architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham, reputed to have said, "Make no little plans," in 1909 he drew up the Plan of Chicago. Among many other things, he envisioned five lakefront piers. The only one to come to fruition - Navy Pier - was completed in 1916, and combined the business of shipping with a place of public recreation.
Since then Navy Pier has served many additional functions. During World War I it housed several regiments, along with the Red Cross and Home Defense units. In 1941 it was leased to the U.S. Navy in the interest of national defense, and more than 60,000 recruits from six countries were trained there by the time the Navy departed in 1946. At that point the Pier was transformed into a University of Illinois branch campus, which operated there until 1965 when the West Loop's UIC-Circle campus opened. Between 1950 and 1960, the Pier also served as a trade-show venue. When one of Chicago's most well-known convention facilities, McCormick Place, was destroyed by fire in 1967, Navy Pier served as an interim venue for the next four years. In the early 70s the Pier was not in use, but with the city's renovation of the Grand Ballroom in 1976 its revival began.
The 1,500-seat Pepsi® Skyline Stage opened in 1994, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater debuted its 525-seat home on Navy Pier in 1999. The 50-acre Navy Pier facility now includes nearly 50 shops, eight restaurants plus a food court, an IMAX theater, the Chicago Children's Museum, tour boats, balloon rides, bike rentals, a small amusement park, and plenty of parking.