Documentary · History

Navy Pier: A Century of Reinvention

Since it opened as Municipal Pier in 1916, Navy Pier has been evolving in response to the changing needs of a city on a Great Lake—Chicago. Originally, it was a port for steamer and shipping traffic. It promoted Chicago’s progress to the world, presented concerts and conventions, and once hosted a trade fair that enticed a visit from the Queen of England. The Pier’s history spans the terms of 17 United States presidents, including one who trained as a fighter pilot there; 18 Illinois governors, including one who went to college there; and 15 Chicago mayors, including its first African-American mayor, who held his inauguration there. The Pier served as a training center in both world wars, and was the one-time Chicago home of the University of Illinois. In the late 1970s, Navy Pier launched the city’s signature ChicagoFests. And since the mid-1990s, the Pier has drawn crowds as an amusement destination, tour boat embarcadero, and home to a children’s museum and Shakespearean theater.