Navy Pier early 1900's

Copyright 2005 David R. Phillps

Construction began in 1914 under the leadership of Charles Sumner Frost and took two years, at a total cost of $4.5 million. When it opened to the public in 1916, it was the largest pier in the world. The Pier was built both to handle shipping and as an entertainment site. The original Burnham Plan proposed five piers, but only one was commissioned. In 1917-18, during World War I the pier housed many soldiers, the Red Cross, and Home Defense units. In years to follow the pier expanded to have its own streetcar line, a theater, and an emergency room. In the 1927 the pier was officially named Navy Pier in honor of the Naval personnel that served there during the war.

Even as Chicago Municipal Pier was being built, the invention of mass-produced cars and trucks was beginning to wreak havoc on the package freight and passenger steamboat industries of Lake Michigan. The pier proved to be much more successful as a public gathering place. By the late 1930s, the pier was described as a summer playground with recreational facilities that included picnicking areas, dining pavilions, a dance hall, auditorium, and children's playground. During the 1950s, it is estimated that an average of 3.2 million visitors frequented the pier annually, with peak attendance for the "Pageant of Progress". This decade is sometimes called the pier's "Golden Age".

The use of the pier for serious marine purposes reached a temporary peak during World War II, when the city leased the pier to the U.S. Navy. The Navy's air group training arm made the pier a quay for a pair of converted flattops, the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable (IX-81), which were used as freshwater trainee carriers. At this time, 60,000 sailors as well as 15,000 pilots including future President George H. W. Bush, used this area for training.

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