DuSable Park is a former commercial and industrial site, at the mouth of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

that has been the subject of

environmental remediation Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may a ...

and is awaiting redevelopment into a park. The project, first announced in 1987 by Mayor

Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...

, is named in honor

Jean Baptiste Point du Sable Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (also spelled ''Point de Sable'', ''Point au Sable'', ''Point Sable'', ''Pointe DuSable'', ''Pointe du Sable''; before 1750 – 28 August 1818) is regarded as the first permanent non-Indigenous settler of what would ...

, who settled nearby in the 1780s and is known as the "Founder of Chicago".

Location

The park is located directly east of North

Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive, and called DuSable Lake Shore Drive, The Outer Drive, The Drive, or LSD) is a multilevel expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and adjacent t ...

and south of Lake Point Tower and

Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...

, with

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

to its east. To its north is the entrance to the Ogden Slip and to its south is the mouth of the

. The canceled

Chicago Spire The Chicago Spire was a skyscraper project in Chicago that was partially built between 2007 and 2008 before being cancelled. Located at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, it would have stood high with 150 floors and been the tallest building in the West ...

project had been planned for a site just west of DuSable Park, on the other side of Lake Shore Drive.

History

Formation

Following the construction of the original

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...

for the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, lake currents were affected and soil was deposited at the area now known as DuSable Park.Palmer, L. (2002, March 11). ''3 Acres/Timeline''. Retrieved May 27, 2007, from http://www.saic.edu/~lpalmer/time.htm In 1857, the State of Illinois sold , including the site later to be known as DuSable Park, to the Chicago Dock and Canal Trust. In 1893 the company dug out the Ogden Slip to allow boats to pull cargo from railroads at North Pier and the DuSable Park site was filled in by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

.DuSable Heritage Association. (2006, September 30). ''DuSable Park''. from In 1948 the Chicago Plan Commission passed a resolution excluding use of lakefront property to only recreation or for harbor or terminal facilities for passenger and freight vessels. In 1964, the Chicago Dock and Canal trust leased the land to the developers of Lake Point Tower. Chicago Dock and Canal Trust sold the land south of the tower to Centex (now PulteGroup) with an option to build additional towers on the site that is now DuSable Park.

Becoming DuSable Park

In an effort to fight possible development, Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been c ...

's administration enacted the Lakefront Protection Ordinance which forbid the land east of Lake Shore Drive to be developed. In 1972, Centex filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago after the city purchased the land. Eventually Centex dropped the option to build on DuSable Park. The Chicago Dock and Canal Trust kept the option to build but agreed not to build on the site. In 1987 Mayor Harold Washington dedicated the parcel as "DuSable Park" in honor of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the first known settler of Chicago. The

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, several boat harbors, two botanic conservatori ...

took ownership of the land at DuSable Park in 1988 via a quit claim deed. Eight years later Keer-McGee and River East L.L.C were named as companies responsible for investigating and cleaning up suspected

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...

at DuSable Park. The next year, MCL Companies absorbed the holdings to Chicago Dock and Canal Trust of DuSable Park. MCL Companies then gave the land to the Chicago Park District and agreed to pay $600,000 toward its development. In July 2000 the Chicago Park District announced it was planning to lease the land to another developer to build a parking lot on the site. Following public outcry and the formation of the DuSable Park Coalition, the Chicago Park District indefinitely postponed the parking lot plan. Since that time two public request for proposals were sent out on the topic of developing the property in 2001 and 2004. Each of those public invitations ended in stalemates. The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

tapped Martin Puryear to design a statue of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable which will be erected at DuSable Harbor, directly across the river."A DuSable park at last?"
Herrmann, A. (2006, September 18). ''Chicago Sun-Times.'' Retrieved February 6, 2007

A new DuSable Park

In July 2005, Christopher Carley of the Fordham Company announced a new development project called the Fordham Spire.Bush, H. (2006, March 22). The coronation of Calatrava. ''Chicago Journal.'' Retrieved December 11, 2006, form The Fordham Company pledged nearly $500,000 to assist in the development of the park, which was to adjoin the site of their new tower. But one year later Carley failed to obtain the necessary financing for his project, and the development of the adjacent tower was turned over to Garret Kelleher of Shelbourne Development and the building was renamed Chicago Spire.Diesenhouse, S. (2007, April 20). Financial questions tower over Spire's political win. ''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved April 21, 2007, fro
Topic Galleries – Chicago Tribune
In late 2006, the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' reported that the project may be going forward with a compromise on the design being reached, but no further financial assistance was promised. In March 2007 Shelbourne Development, the new development company which renamed the adjacent project Chicago Spire, offered $6 million to finish the development of DuSable Park.Yue, L. (2007, March 26). More twists in final plans for Chicago Spire. ''Crain's Chicago Business''. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=24369 In early May of the same year, that offer jumped to $9.6 million.Spielman, F. (2007, May 9). City approves Chicago Spire design. ''Chicago Sun-Times''. Retrieved May 27, 2007 from http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/377686,CST-NWS-spire09.article Shelbourne offered their own design of the park which included a northbound ramp onto Lake Shore Drive for the adjacent Chicago Spire. To appease citizens and members of the DuSable Park Coalition, Shelbourne Development redesigned the northbound ramp to fit under Lake Shore Drive and use less park space. The Chicago Spire was later cancelled in early 2010, due to major setbacks.Calatrava Dances onto a New Stage
– BusinessWeek

Redevelopment concerns

The riverside

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

is in need of repair which may cost up to $5.7 million. Soil tests performed at the location of DuSable Park in December 2000 showed contamination by

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high ...

."3 Acres/Site Description and Context"
Palmer, L. (2002, August 8). Retrieved February 6, 2007 From 1904 through 1936, the Lindsay Light Company processed ores which contained thorium to manufacture thorium impregnated

gas mantle A Coleman white gas lantern mantle glowing at full brightness An incandescent gas mantle, gas mantle or Welsbach mantle is a device for generating incandescent bright white light when heated by a flame. The name refers to its original heat so ...

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

. (2006, March 7th). ''EPA Region 5 Regional Counsel''. Retrieved May 27, 2007, from It was suspected that after the plant closed, contaminated soil was dumped on the location of the proposed park. In March 2003, the Chicago Park District stated that the thorium clean-up on that land was incomplete."3 acres on the lake : DuSable Park"
Palmer, L. (Unknown Last Update). Retrieved February 6, 2007 It was reported that Shelbourne Development would take soil samples to determine the severity of the

.Ahmed-Ullah, N. S. (2007, May 10). City lays groundwork for Spire: Condo tower's developer will help fund nearby park. ''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved May 27, 2007 fro
Topic Galleries – Chicago Tribune
/ref> In 2012, the

received funding from the

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it b ...

for remediation of the site, bagging the radioactive soil and shipping it to a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agenc ...

site.Report: DuSable Park Site Near Navy Pier Nearly Clear Of Radioactive Soil
CBS, 2012/08/23 In summer 2013, the Park District website reported the remediation had been completed by September 2012.Dusable Park
Retrieved 24 June 2013