Transportation
Chicago's Waterfront Identity Crisis
North Lake Shore Drive is both a beloved highway and a treasured park. As the city revamps it, can it continue to be both?
Today's Chicago lake shore has its roots in the leisure era of the late 19th century, when local business barons convinced the city to build a road along Lake Michigan for pleasure strolls and carriage rides. Hometown architect Daniel Burnham defended this vision for Lake Michigan in his 1909 "city beautiful" plan, arguing that "the Lakefront by right belongs to the people."
A century later, it hasn't quite turned out that way.