City on the edge of forever

This month, we will learn how long forever lasts.

            It was the Chicago Canal Commission that in 1836 declared Chicago's lakefront should remain "forever open, clear, and free." Politicians have tried to finagle their way around that ever since, with plans both grandiose and idiotic to erect buildings in the park, but were fought by retailer and public advocate A. Montgomery Ward in the 19th century and city planner Daniel Burnham in the 20th. In 1909, the Illinois Supreme Court reaffirmed "forever open, clear, and free."

            None of those worthies ever had to tangle with Mayor Richard M. Daley, however. He wants the Chicago Children's Museum in Grant Park, where no building is supposed to be built. Most Chicagoans do not want it there; those living near the park certainly do not want it there; Chicago's children do not particularly care where the museum will be.

            The mayor does, however. This month, plans for the 100,000 square foot Children's Museum to desecrate Grant Park will go to the Chicago Plan Commission, the City's Zoning Committee, and the City Council.

            Does anyone really expect these Daley-beholden bodies to go against the mayor? "Forever" is likely to come to an end this month.

            So what happens after the end of forever? The Children's Museum is the wedge for developers and insiders to get their hands on Grant Park. No, they're not going to build condos there. But with the 1836 declaration and the 1909 Illinois Supreme Court ground to dust under the City government's boot heel, the way will be paved for…more paving.

            Already, the Art Institute has plans for a 700-foot bridge in the park. Expect more museums and tourist attractions to demand to move there—why wouldn't they want a location in the busiest part of town? And those visiting the institutions that will spring up in the park over the coming decades will need someplace to have a meal and a drink, right? How about a Tavern on the Green like in Central Park in New York? And what about more paved streets to get to these places? And more parking?

            We know of no plans to put the Mayor's pet idea of a casino for Chicago in Grant Park, but if someone came up with that idea (and casino proponents already have talked about putting it "on the lakerfront"), what would prevent the City from doing so? And "forever open, clear, and free" would spin into memory amid the spinning of roulette wheels and slot machine gears. Not only "open and clear" will be forgotten—there is little that will be "free" about the costly admission to the Children's Museum, similar institutions plopped in Grant Park, and particularly a casino, wherever on the lakefront it would be.

            As so often happens in this clout-heavy town, Chicago is on the wrong end of history. While cities such as Seattle and San Francisco are getting rid of monstrosities such as waterfront highways, Chicago is going to pave paradise.

            Chicago is a city on the edge of forever. And it's about to go over the edge.