Chicago's Grant Park Band Shell history.

The city of Chicago officially designated the land east of Michigan Boulevard as a park in 1844, calling it Lake Park. The city had promised its people that the park would remain public land, vacant, with no buildings. This promise, though tested, would hold, with the exception of the Art Institute being built in 1892.

Looking north on Michigan Boulevard in 1868, with the homes of prosperous businessmen on the left. Lake Park was nothing more than a marsh-filled lagoon, with rail lines on the right, between Lake Michigan and the lagoon-like area. The estimated vantage point of this photo is from where Congress Avenue is now located.

This is an 1890s view of the Lake Park area looking north, showing how cluttered it was with rail yards and tents. Civil War veterans camped in the park in 1890. Troops camped in Grant Park in 1894 during the Pullman strike and a reunion.

In 1901 the park was renamed Grant Park in honor of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Museum Campus was added to the park with more landfill, featuring the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium. In 2004, the northwest corner of the park was renovated and renamed Millennium Park, featuring several famous art installations.

In 1915, the South Park Commission located a temporary wooden bandshell in Grant Park near Michigan and Congress Avenues. It hosted large events as well as band performances and remained in place for five or six years. 

In 1931, Mayor Anton Cermak (assassinated on February 15, 1933) suggested free concerts to lift the spirits of Chicagoans during the Great Depression. The Depression and the proliferation of new technological innovations such as records, radios and "talkies" (films with sound) led to a declining demand for live music and a shrinking job market for musicians. That year, as buildings were being built for the 1933 Century of Progress International Exposition, 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. Construction on the wood and fiber E. V. Buchsbaum design began on a budget of $12,500, and the opening of free concerts commenced on August 24, 1931. Construction was completed in three weeks.

The original Grant Park Band Shell was completed in 3 weeks. (1931)

At the height of the Great Depression, Chicagoans began attending free concerts in a new Grant Park facility: the Grant Park Band Shell was located in Hutchinson Field and modeled after the original Hollywood Bowl from Los Angeles, California. It was a classic Chicago two-fer: a cultural asset that also could deliver a few jobs.

Grant Park and Chicago Skyline. (Circa 1931)

The Petrillo Band Shell was originally located at the south end of Grant Park in Hutchinson Field. It was modeled after the original Hollywood Bowl.

On July 1, 1935, James 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 and south of the Buckingham Fountain, as seen in the above photograph.

The original Grant Park Band Shell at the south end of Grant Park looking north during anti-war demonstrations, Chicago. (1968)

By the 1970s, the original bandshell had deteriorated to the point where "stagehands, performers and even a grand piano had fallen through the stage floor." Amid the catastrophes, the musicians joked about the need for hard hats. 

In 1975, the music shell was renamed to honor James C. Petrillo, 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.

Despite $77,000 in 1977 repair expenditures by the city, the performers were considering canceling the 1978 season.

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 Montgomery Ward restrictions[1].

A compromise produced the inexpensive, staff-designed, demountable band shell at Grant Park's Butler Field, which opened in 1978.

The new Petrillo Bandshell, Grant Park, Chicago.

The "semi-permanent" designation skirted the Montgomery Ward prohibitions[1], and the new structure cost only $3 million. 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, a block north of Buckingham Fountain, and southeast of Millennium Park. The amphitheater and paved surface for public seating is in the southwest corner of the block, facing Butler Field. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] 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. In 1839, United States Secretary of War Joel Roberts Poinsett declared the land between Randolph Street and Madison Street east of Michigan Boulevard "Public Ground, forever to remain vacant of buildings. Aaron Montgomery Ward, 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 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.

Lost Towns of Illinois - Illinoistown

The human settlement of the American Bottom region goes back to ancient Native Americans and their settlement in Cahokia. Europeans beginning with the Spaniard, Hernando de Soto first traveled through the region in the sixteenth century. This European contact was transitory and it was not until the seventeenth century that the French explored the region with the intention of settlement.

French Cahokia, founded in 1699, was not the first French outpost, but it was the earliest settlement that survived more than a few years. Kaskaskia was the next place French settlers built and it was followed by a series of east bank towns at Prairie du Pont and Fort Vincennes on the Wabash River. Settlements by the French on the east bank of the Mississippi included the Village of Nouvelle Chartres & Fort de Chartres and included New Madrid (then known as Anise de la Graise or "Greasy Bend") and St. Genevieve on the west bank of the Mississippi. These were followed by St. Louis, St. Charles, Carondelet (in 1767), St. Ferdinand (now Florissant) and Portage des Sioux. Settlement increased after the late eighteenth century and the end of the American Revolution.

As settlers reached the American Bottom there were those who established homes within the Mississippi River's flood plain, on the eastern shore. At the time, the area was swampy and prone to flooding. Most settlers preferred the higher and better draining Missouri side of the river. We know the identity of only a few of the first Illinois settlers. The historical record begins in detail with the forceful presence of a single man, Captain James Piggott, who, while instrumental to the region's development, certainly benefited from the help of his family and the other settlers of the area.

James Piggott took the long view regarding the development of Illinois territory. Born in Connecticut, his fortunes took him further west throughout his life. He served in the Revolutionary War as a member of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. After his military service, he joined George Rogers Clark recruiting families to live in the proposed town of Clarksville, close to present-day Wickliffe, Kentucky. Chickasaw Native Americans forced the abandonment of this endeavor in 1782 and Piggott moved with seventeen families to Illinois territory.

In 1790 Illinois territorial Governor Arthur St. Clair made Piggott a territorial judge. He settled in Cahokia and soon began the business of providing ferry service crossing the Mississippi to the more developed St. Louis side. The ferry operation continued long after Piggott's death in 1799, later being operated by his sons and eventually absorbed into the Wiggins Ferry monopoly.

In 1808 Illinois City is established. The town's name changed to Illinoistown in 1817.

PIGGOTT'S FERRY
James Piggott, a late eighteenth-century pioneer and a territorial judge for Illinois, settled in the American Bottom Region of Illinois after migrating from the Eastern United States. Once settled in Cahokia, Piggott and his family built a log and mud road from that settlement to a point on Cahokia Creek opposite St. Louis in 1792. During that time the area that is present-day East St. Louis was swampy and uninhabited. Goods crossing the river from the Illinois side had to travel from Cahokia, upstream to St. Louis. Piggott's road allowed him to move goods onto Cahokia Creek, into the Mississippi, and across the river to St. Louis. This access was more direct than shipping from Cahokia and Piggott soon had a growing business providing access to St. Louis.

Once established Piggott refurbished the route to Cahokia Creek with a sturdy road consisting of rocks buttressed with logs through the swampy region. Cahokia Creek, not wide or deep enough for regular use, quickly became an obstacle to Piggott. He spanned a 150-foot wooden bridge over the creek to the riverfront where he built two log cabins. Piggott's Ferry became a central point for travelers and soon the area further inland began to be developed.

After James Piggott died in 1799, Piggott's Ferry remained in business. The growth of St. Louis in the early nineteenth century encouraged further development of the Illinois side of the Mississippi River through the increased demand for transportation across the river. Soon the Piggott family had a number of neighbors and their business faced competition from other entrepreneurs interested in capturing some of the ferry business.

ILLINOISTOWN - A CENTRAL RIVER CROSSING
When James Piggott established his ferry service in 1795, the closest settlement on the Illinois bank was south of the ferry in Cahokia. However, Piggott was soon transporting both people and goods to St. Louis and the ferry landing was a natural place for commerce to develop. Between 1805 and 1809 a wealthy French Canadian, Etienne Pinsoneau, purchased land behind the ferry landing and built a two-story brick tavern. He called the area Jacksonville. In subsequent years Pinsoneau sold some of the lands and in 1815 Moses Scott built a general store. The McKnight-Brady operation bought out Pinsoneau at the same time it invested in Piggott's ferry. Brady and McKnight platted the land behind the Piggott ferry in 1818 and called it Illinoistown. A traveler in 1821 described the settlement as one consisting of roughly twenty or thirty houses and one hundred inhabitants.

WIGGINS' FERRY
In 1819, Samuel Wiggins, a politician, and businessman bought an interest in the Piggott family's ferry operation and began to compete with the McKnight-Brady ferry and other ferry services. Soon after he began operations Wiggins used his political clout to persuade the Illinois General Assembly to grant him a charter with exclusive rights to two miles of Illinois riverfront opposite St. Louis and the right to establish a toll road leading to his landing. The act went further and allowed no new ferry operations to be created within a mile on either side of Wiggins' landing. Wiggins later bought out the McNight-Brady interest in Piggott's Ferry. To further his control of the Illinois side of the river he went into partnership with a prominent businessman who owned substantial portions of land in Illinoistown.

An Undated St. Louis & Illinois Team Boat Ferry 50 Cents - Ticket № 193. Circa 1819-21

The Wiggins operation marks a watershed for the area that would become East St. Louis. Through Wiggins' political power in Illinois, he established a stronghold on river transportation to St. Louis and the west. This concentration of power was temporary, but lasted long enough to make Illinoistown and later East St. Louis a central crossing point for goods and people heading west. One of the first steamboats to ply the Mississippi stopped at St. Louis and the McKnight-Brady landing in 1817. The new technology promised new economic potential for the Illinois side of the river and Samuel Wiggins capitalized on this future.

In the early years of Illinoistown it is clear that Samuel Wiggins, a politician, and Illinois businessman, was an influential presence. The Reverend John Mason Peck described the town as a small one of about a dozen families with a post office, hotel, livery, and store. The post office was called Wiggins Ferry and Samuel was the postmaster.

Although a flood in 1826 (only one of many to damage the area) may have set back the growth of Illinoistown, Wiggins' concentrated ferry business helped spawn economic growth throughout the 1820s and 1830s. According to a study by the National Park Service, by 1841 Illinoistown had become a bustling place with numerous groceries [EXPLANATION], general stores, two bakeries, a clothier, a cooper, blacksmiths, and hotels. There were more than one hundred homes and a newspaper, "The American Bottom Reporter."

Samuel Wiggins was apparently not a person to have others do his work. He was involved in the lives of the people living in and around Illinoistown as an excerpt from William Wells Brown's narrative proves.

The first thirty years of the nineteenth century marked a period of regular growth along either side of the Mississippi. St. Louis was established as the largest city in the region and a central starting point for people heading west. The community on the Illinois side was growing as well, providing passage to St. Louis.

Steamboats brought Illinoistown and St. Louis a variety of new ventures. Steamboats needed fueling stations and a means of transporting their goods once ashore. The local ferry operations were a natural fit, developing shore facilities for steamboats and already possessing the ability to quickly move goods across the river at low cost.

An example of a time-period wood-burning steamboat ferry on the Mississippi.

By 1828 the Wiggins operation had converted its ferries to steam, taking advantage of its renovated facilities and the fairly low cost of constructing a steamboat.

Illinoistown becomes East Saint Louis, Illinois in 1861.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Rise of Baseball in the Rogers Park community of Chicago.

In the mid-1900s, as the bustling city of Chicago expanded northward, the community of Rogers Park emerged as a haven for baseball enthusiasts. While professional baseball held sway with the renowned White Sox and Cubs, Rogers Park nurtured a vibrant semi-professional scene that captivated local fans. 

The Rogers Park Baseball Club played its first games in 1906 and entertained fans at the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds near the corner of Devon Avenue and Clark Street in Chicago. The Club rose to prominence within this landscape, becoming a beloved institution for the residents of many Chicago Northside communities until 1916, when the ballpark closed.

Rogers Park Baseball Club

The Rogers Park Baseball Grounds was located at approximately 1600 W. Devon Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. More specifically, it was situated just north of the Clark-Devon Hardware store on the east side of Clark Street.

The Rogers Park Baseball Grounds: A Field of Dreams

The heart of the Rogers Park baseball experience was the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds, located near the intersection of Devon Avenue and Clark Street. While not as grand as the professional stadiums of the era, the grounds exuded a certain charm and intimacy that drew in dedicated crowds. While uneven in places, the field bore the marks of countless games, each adding to its storied character. Wooden bleachers lined the field, offering spectators a close-up view of the action. The crowd's buzz, the bat's crack, and the shouts of encouragement echoed through the grounds on game days.

The Club: A Local Institution

The Rogers Park Baseball Club was more than just a team; it symbolized community pride. The players, mostly local men with day jobs, embodied a spirit of dedication and passion for the game. Local businesses often sponsored the team, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared identity within the community.

The Club competed in semi-professional leagues, facing fierce rivals from other Chicago neighborhoods and nearby towns. These games held the allure of intense competition played out on a familiar stage. Rivalries were fierce as the Rogers Park team locked horns with other semi-pro clubs across Chicago. Teams like the Logan Squares, the Gunthers, and the West Ends provided formidable competition, resulting in thrilling battles that kept fans on the edge. Newspaper accounts would detail nail-biting plays, spectacular catches, and clutch hits, vividly depicting the action.

The Heyday (1900-1910s)

The early 1900s through the 1910s marked the golden age of the Rogers Park Baseball Club and its grounds. Fans flocked to the ballpark on Sundays and holidays, creating a festive atmosphere. Children chased foul balls, families shared picnics, and neighbors rooted for their local heroes.

The Rogers Park Baseball Club enjoyed considerable success during this period, claiming several league championships and producing a few players who even caught the eye of professional scouts. One such player was the speedy outfielder and shortstop Lou Gertenrich, who even had a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901.

The Club and its home grounds played a pivotal role in the growth of baseball in Chicago. The popularity of these semi-pro teams fueled a broader interest in the sport, with amateur leagues and youth teams springing up throughout the city. The ballpark hosted the home team and became a hub for community baseball at all levels.

In a historic moment, Rogers Park etched its name into baseball lore by hosting one of the first successful night games under artificial lights in 1910. This exhibition match between the Rogers Park team and the Logan Squares demonstrated the potential for expanding the game beyond the limits of daylight.

The Demise and Legacy

Sadly, the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds met their demise in 1916. Changing demographics, a decline in the popularity of semi-professional baseball, and the pressures of urban development led to the ballpark's closure. The land where thrilling games were once played was repurposed, leaving only memories in its wake.

Though the physical embodiment of the Rogers Park Baseball Club and its grounds faded, their legacy endured. The era fostered a love of baseball within the community, passed down through generations. The stories of the Club and its players, the rivalries, and the thrilling victories became part of the fabric of Rogers Park.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.