Promontory Point (Chicago)

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Promontory Point
South side of Promontory Point. Promontory Point Field House. 05/28/06 Northerly View of Hyde Park and Downtown from Promontory Point.

Promontory Point is a man-made peninsula jutting into Lake Michigan, part of Chicago's Burnham Park.

Located on Chicago Park District land at 55th Street in Chicago's south side Hyde Park neighborhood, it was opened to the public in 1937. Alfred Caldwell designed and built "The Point" (the common name used by Hyde Parkers), following the Prairie School of landscaping, using native plants and stone and adding soil to build a hill. Caldwell finished the park's lakefront using the existing limestone block seawall. In 1938, Caldwell created stone sitting council rings around the lakefront edge, which today are used as fire pits.

The park is accessed by the Lake Shore Bike Path, and a tunnel which passes under Lake Shore Drive at the east end of 55th Street. At the head of the park, seen immediately upon emerging from the 55th Street tunnel, is the David Wallach Memorial Fountain. This fountain was designed in 1939 by Elizabeth and Frederick Hibbard in the shape of a fawn, with drinking areas at human and animal levels. During the Cold War the park also housed a 150-foot radar tower for the Nike Hercules missile defense system; it was dismantled in 1971.

The park contains a fieldhouse, built in 1937, the exterior of which is made of Lannon Stone from Wisconsin. Partly because of its view of the lake and cityline, it is a popular wedding and corporate event location. It competes with the much larger Jackson Park 63rd Street Beach House and the even larger South Shore Cultural Center as south side beachfront special use facilities. The frequent summer fireworks displays at Navy Pier are often viewed from The Point, especially on Independence Day, when large numbers of Hyde Parkers and other south side residents gather there. It neighbors the Museum of Science and Industry and the 57th Street Beach.

[edit] Controversies

A proposal to replace the limestone seawall with a concrete abutment has proven controversial among many residents of the Hyde Park area. Bumper stickers decrying this can be seen many vehicles (including automobiles, bikes and skateboards) in the city reading "Save the Point," referring to the adopted motto of those in agreement with the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois that The Point is an endangered Historic Location. The adoption of this motto goes back at least to the time of the 1993 Memorandum of Agreement for the Illinois Shoreline Erosion Interim 3, which requires the preservation of the revetment at Promontory Point in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines for Historic Preservation and its Standards for the Treatment of Historic Landscapes and principles from the Project Memorandum Agreement.

Save the Point Bumper Stickers
07/03/06 Bumper sticker on bike baby seat. 07/03/06 Bumper sticker on car bumper.

According to an August 2006 analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in response to issues raised most recently in a March 2006 meeting of the Corps, the City of Chicago, the Community Task Force, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, Preservation Chicago, the Hyde Park Historical Society, the Office of U. S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and the Office of U. S. Senator Barack Obama, preservation work will adhere to the following concerns of those in attendance and those of the Chicago Park District Lakefront Construction Director [1]:

Preservation enhancements that provide the level of shoreline protection storm damage reduction for a 50-year project live.
Provide an appropriate level accessibility to the water's edge for persons with disabilities in compliance with Department of Justice standards and approved by the Chicago Parks District.
Represent reasonable cost to local agencies for construction and maintenance.
Continue to meet wtih the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in consultation with the Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer.

[edit] Trivia

There were a few scenes in the movie Proof starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Anthony Hopkins that show the Chicago Skyline in the background from parkbenches at Promontory Point.
This location was named by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois to the 2004 List of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places In Illinois[2] after being named to their 2002-3 Chicagoland Watch List. As of November 2006, they list it as still threatened.
Site of the World's Fair in 1933–4.