Museum Campus is a park in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that sits alongside

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 ...

in Grant Park and encompasses five of the city's most notable attractions: the

Adler Planetarium The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan in the city, the ...

, America's first planetarium; the

Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Opened on May 30, 1930, the aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about ...

; the Field Museum of Natural History;

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...

, home of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

football team; and the Lakeside Center of

McCormick Place McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCorm ...

. Museum Campus sits adjacent to

Northerly Island Northerly Island is a man-made peninsula along Chicago's Lake Michigan lakefront. The site of the Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island connects to the mainland through a narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive. This street is dominated by Neoclas ...

along the waterfront.

History

The Museum Campus was created to transform the vicinity of three of the city's most notable museums – the

, the

, and the Field Museum of Natural History – along with Soldier Field stadium, into a scenic

pedestrian-friendly Walkability is a term for planning concepts best understood by the mixed-use of amenities in high-density neighborhoods where people can access said amenities by foot. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport ...

area. The area is landscaped with greenery and flora as well as jogging paths and walkways. A picturesque promenade along Solidarity Drive, an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

, links

to the mainland. The drive itself is lined with a number of grand bronze monuments commemorating Kościuszko, Havliček, and

Nicholas Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulate ...

, the last of which is a replica of a famous 19th-century work in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

by Danish sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danish and Icelandic sculptor medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Danish ...

. The Museum Campus opened on June 4, 1998, when the northbound lanes of

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 ...

were moved west of

following the route of the expressway's southbound lanes. By removing the roadway which bisected the area, Museum Campus was created into a green space for the enjoyment of both residents and tourists. In 2014, a consortium of museums in or near the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the ...

, formed Museum Campus South. Also in 2014, filmmaker

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as cha ...

selected Museum Campus as the location of the

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a museum founded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson. Once completed, the museum will hold all forms of visual storytelling, including painting, photography, sculpture, illust ...

, which would have cost an estimated $700 million, and expanded Museum Campus south along the city's waterfront. However, these plans were cancelled in June 2016 due to opposition from the Friends of the Parks advocacy group. In August 2016, in a partnership with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Parks District an
Everywhere Wireless
Museum Campus joined man

and

Buckingham Fountain Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, between Queen's Landing and Ida B. Wells Drive. Dedicated in 1927 and donated to the city by philanthropist Kate S. Buckingham, it is one of the largest fountains in the ...

in providing free Wi-Fi to visitors. In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Museum Campus was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to sup ...

Illinois component (AIA Illinois).

Campus Museums

References

External links

Museum Campus map

— includes a short video
Museum CampusSociety of Architectural Historians SAH ARCHIPEDIA entry on Museum Campus
{{Neighborhoods in Chicago Parks in Chicago Chicago, Museum Campus 1998 establishments in Illinois Neighborhoods in Chicago

History

Campus Museums

See also

References

External links