Petrillo Bandshell
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The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the James C. Petrillo Music Shell) is an outdoor
amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...
in Grant Park in the Loop community area of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in
Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...
, United States. It serves as host to many large annual music festivals in the city such as
Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...
,
Chicago Jazz Festival The Chicago Jazz Festival is an admission-free, four-day annual jazz festival in Chicago's Millennium Park. It is run by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and programmed with the assistance of Jazz Institute of Chicago during ...
,
Taste of Chicago The Taste of Chicago (also known locally as The Taste) is the world's largest food festival, held in September in Chicago, Illinois in Grant Park. The event is also the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include live music on ...
and
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
. It is also the former host of several smaller annual events that have moved to the newer
Jay Pritzker Pavilion Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...
such as the Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago Gospel Music Festival, and Chicago Latin Music Festival. The name has been applied to two different structures: one that stood facing Hutchinson Field, near the south end of Grant Park, from 1931 to 1975; and a replacement structure facing Butler Field at Monroe and Columbus that opened in 1978. The original bandshell was commissioned in 1931 by Mayor
Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak (May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th Mayor of Chicago from April 7, 1931, until his death in 1933. He was killed by Giuseppe Zangara, whose likely target was President-elec ...
during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
to help lift the spirits of the citizenry with free concerts.Tiebert, Laura, ''Frommer's Chicago with Kids (3rd edition),'' 2007, Wiley Publishing, Inc., , p.263. In 1975, the music shell was named to honor James C. Petrillo, president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians from 1922 to 1962 and president of the
American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...
from 1940 to 1958, who created a free concert series in Grant Park in 1935. Petrillo was a commissioner of 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, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...
from 1934 to 1945.


Location and layout

In 1915, the commissioners of South Park (Grant Park's predecessor) located a temporary wooden bandshell in the Park near
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and Congress Avenues. It hosted large events as well as band performances and remained in place for five or six years.Macaluso, p. 27 In 1931, Cermak suggested free concerts to lift spirits of Chicagoans during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.Knox, p. 15 The Depression and the proliferation of new technological innovations such as records,
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
s and
sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
s led to a declining demand for live music and a shrinking job market for musicians.Macaluso, p. 50 That year, as buildings were being built for the 1933 Century of Progress International Exposition, the Chicago Concert Band Association offered to organize a seventy-person concert band to give free summer concerts if the park commissioners would build a band shell that had electric lighting and dressing rooms.Macaluso, p. 35 Construction on the wood and fiber E. V. Buchsbaum design began on a budget of $12,500 ($ in today's dollars), and the opening of free concerts commenced on August 24, 1931. Construction was completed in three weeks.Macaluso, p. 59 On July 1, 1935, Petrillo oversaw the beginning of free concerts in Grant Park at the original bandshell located on the south end of the park across
Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive; also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Outer Drive, the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access Limited-access highway, expressway that runs alongside the sh ...
from the
Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
.Macaluso, p. 6 Originally referred to as the Grant Park Band Shell, the bandshell was renamed and dedicated in honor of Petrillo in 1975.Knox, p. 14 There were numerous plans and proposals to replace the original band shell beginning almost as soon as the Festival began.Macaluso, p. 8 Among the most prominent was a post-WWII (1946) plan to have a fifteen-thousand-seat butterfly-design retractible canopy band shell on the block immediately east of the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
that eventually came to host the second incarnation of the Petrillo Music Shell.Macaluso, p. 93 In 1953 a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
was almost held on the November 3
Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...
ballot for a $3 million ($) structure, but at the last minute a
bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor (e.g. repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of t ...
was denied.Macaluso, p. 102 In 1963, a plan for a ten thousand seat music bowl was propounded.Macaluso, p. 114 By the 1970s the original bandshell had deteriorated to the point where "stagehands, performers and even a
grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
had fallen through the stage floor." Amid the catastrophes, the musicians joked about the need for
hard hat A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in hazardous environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the Human head, head from injury due to falling objects (such as tools and debris), impact with other objects, and ...
s. Despite $77,000 ($) in 1977 repair expenditures by the city, the performers were considering cancelling the 1978 season.Macaluso, p. 132 Deed restrictions dating from the city's early history generally forbid any buildings in Grant Park between Randolph Drive and 11th Place. As the result of a series of
Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the fiv ...
rulings, Grant Park has been "forever open, clear and free" since 1836, which was a year before the city of Chicago was incorporated.Macaluso, pp. 12–13 In 1839,
United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...
Joel Roberts Poinsett Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779December 12, 1851) was an American physician, botanist, politician, and diplomat. He was the first U.S. agent in South America, a member of the South Carolina Legislature, and later a United States Representat ...
declared the land between
Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...
and Madison Street east of Michigan Avenue "Public Ground forever to remain vacant of buildings.
Aaron Montgomery Ward Aaron Montgomery Ward (February 17, 1843 – December 7, 1913) was an American entrepreneur based in Chicago who made his fortune through the use of mail order for retail sales of general merchandise to rural customers. In 1872 he founded Montg ...
, who is known both as the inventor of
mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...
and the protector of Grant Park, twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. As a result, the city has what are termed the Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park. In 1972, plans were advanced to build a large new concrete-and-fiberglass band shell atop a new underground parking garage, but community groups defended the Ward restrictions. A compromise produced the inexpensive, staff-designed, demountable band shell at Butler Field, which opened in 1978.Macaluso, p. 45 The "semi-permanent" designation skirted the Ward prohibitions and the new structure cost only $3 million ($ million).Macaluso, p. 133Macaluso, p. 135 With an official street address at 235 S. Columbus Drive, the music shell encompasses the entire block bounded by
Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive; also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Outer Drive, the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access Limited-access highway, expressway that runs alongside the sh ...
to the east, Columbus Drive to the west, East Monroe Drive to the north and East Jackson Drive to the south. This places it a block east of the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
, a block north of
Buckingham Fountain Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, between Queen's Landing and the end of Ida B. Wells Drive. Dedicated in 1927 and donated to the city by philanthropist Kate S. Buckingham, it is one of the largest fount ...
, and southeast of
Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
. The amphitheater and paved surface for public seating is in the southwest corner of the block. This has served as one of the main stages for recent Lollapalooza celebrations.


History

Concerts began at the band shell in August 1931. In July 1932,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
made a campaign stop at the bandshell on his way to make his acceptance speech as the Democratic nominee for president at the
1932 Democratic National Convention The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois June 27 – July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York for president and Speaker of the House John N. Garner from ...
at
Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...
. In 1934, the twenty-two separate parks merged under the Park Consolidation Act, in order to gain
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
federal funding.Macaluso, p. 54 Mayor
Edward Kelley Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to se ...
named Chicago Federation of Musicians President Petrillo to the board of the Chicago Park District. Petrillo suggested a free symphonic concert series in Grant Park. Under the agreement, Petrillo would raise money for the first season and if it was well-attended, the Park District would continue the program.Macaluso, p. 39 The first season of the Grant Park Music Festival began on July 1, 1935, and ran until
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
with a total of sixty-five concerts. The
Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
, the Women's Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Opera Orchestra each performed five or six times. Large
concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
s led by
Bohumir Kryl Bohumir Kryl (May 3, 1875 – August 7, 1961) was a Czech-American financial executive and art collector who is most famous as a cornetist, bandleader, and pioneer recording artist, for both his solo work and as a leader of popular and Bohemian ...
, Armin Hand,
Max Bendix Max Bendix (March 28, 1866 – December 6, 1945) was an American concert violinist, conductor, and teacher. He was the first concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was also the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Bendi ...
, George Dasch, Glenn Bainum, and Victor Grabel also performed. By the end of the summer crowds of up to 35,000 were attending nightly free concerts. The summer's total attendance was estimated at 1.9 million.Macaluso, p. 60 This was viewed as a sufficient success that the Park District committed to assuming financial responsibility for the entire ongoing annual outdoor concert series. The concerts for the first season were also broadcast on nationwide radio broadcasts. The bandshell hosted symbolic events during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The July 1942 celebration of the city's 10,000th
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recruit with a 500-sailor representation from
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to salute the
color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the mil ...
was held at the band shell.Macaluso, p. 40 In 1944, a
public address system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
was added and following the war Grant Park usage increased heavily. Between the scheduling of
Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...
's 1958 Grant Park Music Festival appearance and his actual July 16 appearance, he won the quadrennial
International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
that April. He was catapulted to international fame for winning one of the world's elite music competitions. As a result, he was greeted with a celebration that included a
ticker tape parade A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in an urban setting, characterized by large amounts of shredded paper thrown onto the parade route from the surrounding buildings, creating a celebratory flurry of paper. Originally, actual ticker tap ...
down Michigan Avenue, and his Grant Park Music Festival appearance was a major event.Macaluso, p. 96 The following year, the band shell served as the host location for three concerts for the opening celebration of the
1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...
.Macaluso, p. 111 In 1978, the new band shell began hosting events such as
Taste of Chicago The Taste of Chicago (also known locally as The Taste) is the world's largest food festival, held in September in Chicago, Illinois in Grant Park. The event is also the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include live music on ...
, an annual July 3
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
celebration, the Chicago Blues, Jazz and Gospel Festivals. In October 1979,
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
presided over the largest public
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
ever held in Chicago on a terraced
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
platform that was erected next to the band shell.
Joseph Bernardin Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death from pancreatic cancer. B ...
delivered a
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on the same kind of platform after being promoted to
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of
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. The
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has held an event at the band shell and rallies celebrating the
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championships by the
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occurred at the band shell. It also served as the venue for
Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st mayor of Chicago. In April 1983, Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city’s mayor at the age of ...
's second mayoral inauguration in 1987. In 1998, at a Grant Park Music Festival performance, the miniature prototype of the Talaske-designed audio system that would eventually be used at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion was tested. Since 2005, the Music Shell has been used as a stage for the annual
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
festival.


Controversies

When the Pritzker Pavilion was built members of the Petrillo family wanted it named after James Petrillo. There has been much debate about which concerts and festivals should remain at the Petrillo and which should be moved to the Pritzker Pavilion. The initial plan was that the larger annual music festivals such as the Blues and Jazz Festivals and Taste of Chicago would continue to be held in Petrillo Music Shell because they are too large to be hosted at the Pavilion. However, smaller festivals such as the Chicago Gospel Music Festival have been hosted at the Pavilion since 2005. There has been public opinion that some of the Blues and Jazz Festival smaller events should be moved to the better and more modern acoustics of the Pavilion. By 2009, as the city grappled with a budget deficit, it considered realigning parts of the larger festivals with the more modern venue and made definite plans to move some of the smaller ones there.


Notes

General admission seating includes the Petrillo Lawn and Butler Field.


Bibliography

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References

{{Coord, 41.8788, -87.6200, type:landmark, display=title Music venues in Chicago Amphitheaters in the United States Central Chicago Landmarks in Chicago Buildings and structures completed in 1978 Event venues established in 1931 1931 establishments in Illinois