The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the James C. Petrillo Music Shell) is an outdoor
amphitheater in
Grant Park in the
Loop
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community area of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
in
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
, United States. It serves as host to many large annual music festivals in the city such as
Chicago Blues Festival,
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 durin ...
,
Taste of Chicago
The Taste of Chicago (also known locally as The Taste) is the world's largest food festival, held for five days in July in Chicago, Illinois in Grant Park. The event is also the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include liv ...
and
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
.
It is also the former host of several smaller annual events that have moved to the newer
Jay Pritzker Pavilion 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 during the
Great Depression 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 James Caesar Petrillo (March 16, 1892 – October 23, 1984) was the leader of the American Federation of Musicians, a trade union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada.
Biography
Petrillo was born in Chicago, Illinois, United S ...
, president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians from 1922 to 1962 and president of the
American Federation of Musicians from 1940 to 1958, who created a free concert series in Grant Park in 1935. Petrillo was a commissioner of the
Chicago Park District 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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
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.
[Knox, p. 15] The Depression and the proliferation of new technological innovations such as
records,
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...
s and
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with 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, but decades passed befo ...
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
A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...
, 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 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 educational ...
.[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 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 mil ...
that eventually came to host the second incarnation of the Petrillo Music Shell.[Macaluso, p. 93] In 1953 a referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
was almost held on the November 3 Election Day ballot for a $3 million ($) structure, but at the last minute a bond issue 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
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
had fallen through the stage floor." Amid the catastrophes, the musicians joked about the need for hard hats. 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 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 U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the C ...
Joel Roberts Poinsett declared the land between Randolph Street and Madison Street east of Michigan Avenue "Public Ground forever to remain vacant of buildings.[ Aaron Montgomery Ward, who is known both as the inventor of mail order 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. 133][Macaluso, p. 135]
With an official street address at 235 S. Columbus Drive, the music shell encompasses the entire block bounded by Lake Shore Drive 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 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 mil ...
, a block north of 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 wo ...
, and southeast of Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center ne ...
. 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), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
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 at Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.
...
.[
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 programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
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 best known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to ...
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 holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...
with a total of sixty-five concerts. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...
, 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, brass, and percussion famil ...
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, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The July 1942 celebration of the city's 10,000th United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
recruit with a 500-sailor representation from Navy Pier to salute the color guard
In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young o ...
was held at the band shell.[Macaluso, p. 40] In 1944, a public address system 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 who, at the age of 23, 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 in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
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 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.[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 for five days in July in Chicago, Illinois in Grant Park. The event is also the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include liv ...
, an annual July 3 Independence Day fireworks
Fireworks are a class of low explosive 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 number of devices ...
celebration, the Chicago Blues, Jazz and Gospel Festivals.[ In October 1979, ]Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
presided over the largest public mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
ever held in Chicago on a terraced altar
An altar is a Table (furniture), 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 wo ...
platform that was erected next to the band shell. Joseph Bernardin delivered a homily
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...
on the same kind of platform after being promoted to Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 an ...
. The Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
has held an event at the band shell and rallies celebrating the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
championships by the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
occurred at the band shell.[ It also served as the venue for Harold Washington'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 (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
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
{{Authority control
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