Unfiltered: Grant Park Debate

If you'd like here's some audio of a debate over the Chicago Children's Museum's proposed move to Grant Park at the Union League Club. It was pointed out by another reader some remarks made by the museum's President Jennifer Farrington near the 48 minute mark...

In a recent debate before the Union League Club, museum president Jennifer Farrington admitted that they had refused to consider neighborhoods on the Southside, Westside or Northside (like mine, Uptown), because those neighborhoods contain negative connotations which "may make families feel like it’s not a place for them." (May 6th)

Some more info. on why this is being contested by Ald. Brendan Reilly and other Grant Park suporters:

The 1836 covenant protections that prohibit buildings in Grant Park, turning over control of park lands to private hands, and charging admission to events and exhibitions ONLY apply to the land bounded by Randolph Street on the North, Michigan Avenue on the West, Lake Michigan on the East, and 11th Street/Park Row on the South.

The Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Soldier Field are ALL outside of that zone.

In fact, the land that they sit on was created by landfill into Lake Michigan in the early 1900's.

The ONLY exception to the prohibition is the Art Institute, and ONLY because Montgomery Ward chose not to include them in his lawsuit. Instead, he negotiated an agreement, spelled out in the Supreme Court's first Ward Decision, that allowed for the Art Institute to go forward on a specific footprint provided that they provide free admission to the public on certain days and free admission to school children ALL of the time.
...
P.S. Before his death, Montgomery Ward admitted regrets for not having challenged the Art Institute, because he feared it would be used as justification for future development of Grant Park. Smart guy.

Very interesting!