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Find the best places to watch the
Chicago 4th July fireworks live
here.
4th
July in Chicago this year will be
marked by a series of fireworks
displays across the city, the
largest of which will take place at
the Navy Pier. Independence Day is a
national holiday marked by patriotic
displays. Similar to other
summer-themed events, Independence
Day celebrations often take place
outdoors. Independence Day is a
federal holiday, so all
non-essential federal institutions
(like the postal service and federal
courts) are closed on that day. Many
politicians make it a point on this
day to appear at a public event to
praise the nation's heritage, laws,
history, society, and people.
Note: If
you're a big fireworks fan, then be
sure to check out the
Chicago
New Year's Eve Fireworks Live Streaming.
Navy
Pier is a 3,300-foot long
pier on the Chicago shoreline of
Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the
Near North Side community area. The
pier was built in 1916 at a cost of
$4.5 million, equivalent to $90.5
million today. It was a part of the
Plan of Chicago developed by
architect and city planner Daniel
Burnham and his associates. As
Municipal Pier #2 (Municipal Pier #1
was never built), Navy Pier was
planned and built to serve as a
mixed-purpose piece of public
infrastructure. Its primary purpose
was as a cargo facility for lake
freighters, and warehouses were
built up and down the pier. However,
the pier was also designed to
provide docking space for passenger
excursion steamers, and in the
pre-air conditioning era parts of
the pier, especially its outermost
tip, were designed to serve as cool
places for public gathering and
entertainment. The pier even had its
own streetcar. Today, Navy Pier is
Chicago's number one tourist
attraction.
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 1927 the pier was
officially named Navy Pier in honor
of the Naval personnel that served
there during the war.
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