[Music] did you know that the story of Chicago's multi-level Expressway Lakeshore Drive goes back
over 150 years this famous Road has been featured in music movies and video games
and hence it is permanently etched into American pop culture and yet to the dismay of some and
celebration of others the city has renamed the legendary road but why was this done in
the name of modern political correctness or as a gesture to honor one of Chicago's unsung
heroes the answer might surprise you so join me as we discover the history of Chicago's
Lakeshore Drive I'm your host Ryan silkash and you're watching it's history [Music]
the history of Lakeshore Drive began in the mid-19th century following efforts to move
the bodies of Cholera victims from the Chicago Coastline so that a park could be developed in
the vacant and former Cemetery in 1865 plans for this park named in the then recently deceased
President Abraham Lincoln's honor established the early ideas for a roadway that would travel along
the coast this plan was developed by Architects sway Nelson and Olaf Benson development continued
for Lincoln Park and Lake Shore Drive but many credit the accolades of Potter Palmer in 1882 as
the direct starting point to what became Chicago's most famous Road Potter Palmer decided to build a
mansion by the shore despite being described as an unusual place of residents by the Chicago Tribune
during construction Palmer was a trendsetter among other wealthy landlords and hence others began to
build homes in the area and fund the surrounding space many including Palmer believed that the
beautiful sights of the shore would raise property values hence in 1909 architect Daniel Burnham
created his plan of Chicago this plan noted the potential of expanding the park space around
the coast through the city limits he specifically envisioned a Boulevard through the park furthering
the development of what would become Lakeshore Drive the drive would continue to expand in the
early 20th century then in 1911 legal battles led to Aaron Montgomery Ward establishing Chicago's
Shore as a public space Ward a wealthy Chicago local dedicated his life to supporting the working
class of Chicago and has been described as one of the country's quote First environmentalists
these legal battles would become some of the last contributions by Ward as he passed away
on December the 7th 1913 the 1930s was a pivotal time for Lakeshore drives development the Chicago
World's Fair would transform the coast of Lake Michigan the Chicago's World Fair or as
it was known officially a century of progress International Exposition was held in Chicago
in 1933 and this of course was not the first edition of the World Fair visiting the town
but this occasion was special as the World's Fair celebrated the 100 Year history of the city and
highlighted the technological advancements of the time as the United States was still in the early
years of the Great Depression the fair hoped to distract the public with the hope of an advanced
future one nice example of this was the 1933 homes of Tomorrow exhibition which featured various
Innovations in architecture surprisingly after the fair ended the following year five houses were
floated over Lake Michigan starting by the drive and ending in Beverly Shores Indiana the buildings
survived this journey and remained in the custody of multiple parties within the state the
Chicago Bay Area received much tourist attention from the world fair bringing much traffic to our
road as it continued expanding the drive received Federal works progress administration funding
as a part of President Roosevelt's New Deal the WPA has been described by PBS as quote the most
famous because of the sheer number of people it impacted 8.5 million people were employed under
this program but it was canceled in 1943 because the federal government realized that direct relief
would be cheaper than employment that being said within Lakeshore Drive the WPA support allowed the
road to extend into a limited access Expressway a limited access road is designed to handle traffic
efficiently it separates opposing traffic and minimizes pedestrian Crossings to optimize
Transportation speeds limited access roads came to prominence in the United States at the turn of the
20th century and became commonplace when Lakeshore Drive was formally developed after the world's
fairest Spotlight brought greater attention to the road it became necessary for expansion the early
plans for Lake Shore Drive did not anticipate the technological boom of the automobile still
by the 1930s it became clear that the drive must become isolated from non-automobile forms of
transportation and so it was by the mid-1950s the road had expanded yet again this time Lakeshore
Drive was extended North now including the space from Foster Avenue to Hollywood Avenue after many
years of these various expansions to the road the authority over Lake Shore Drive moved in
1959 initially under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District the road was originally
an addition to Lincoln Park But ultimately the city of Chicago took control however this was
short-lived as the jurisdiction of the road once again was transferred to the Illinois Department
of Transportation within the next 20 years in 1975 Friends of the parks was established to preserve
the public parks in Chicago the group formed as a response to corruption in the park Administration
they viewed the current status of Chicago's Parks as in shambles and in need of outside intervention
throughout the second half of the 70s Friends of the parks advocated for Park cleanup events and
other related political fundraisers in 1979 Friends of the parks focused on renovating
the space around Lake Shore Drive they asked for the Chicago Lakefront Trail to be resurfaced and
marked their work paid off and by the 1990s the Chicago Park District and the Illinois
Department of Transportation implemented aesthetic Renovations along the road this project involved
adding Greenery to the surrounding land after the aesthetic Renovations of the 1990s Lakeshore Drive
has not had any significant facelifts or changes outside of routine maintenance meaning that in
many ways this road is authentically historic however according to the official Lakeshore
Drive website the relationship between the road and Lincoln Park has strained over time due
to their continued usage despite the relatively static current status of the street the Illinois
Department of Transportation started a study of Lakeshore drives infrastructure to investigate
potential future optimizations back in 2003 13 and a new vision was born the redefined the drive
project proposed various ideas to the public over zoom on March the 24th 2022 however the crowd was
skeptical of what the project would be able to accomplish they could not ask questions or engage
directly with the project members due to the form of this Public Presentation and some have noted
that this Behavior has been a reoccurring theme with the redefine the drive project as they only
had four public meetings in their decade-long tenure the public was critical of the Project's
lack in transparency pointing out that the March 24th meeting had not been advertised to make
matters worse a Chicago urban planning and policy professor at the University of Illinois pointed
out many environmental concerns about the new plan despite existing to improve the infrastructure of
Lakeshore Drive the redefined the drive project faced significant criticism about their plans
effects on climate change and the potential environmental damages to the Chicago Coast
despite the many vocal complaints the Illinois Department of Transportation continues its study
of Lakeshore Drive to this very day by the late 20th century Lakeshore Drive became a cultural
symbol for the Chicago coastal region in 1973 the chicago-based band Elio de Haynes Jeremiah
released their third studio album named after the road the title song was stylized as Lakeshore
Drive or LSD obviously those unfamiliar with the Chicagoland area misinterpreted the lyrics
entirely but Chicago locals maintained that the song is a tribute to the road any suggestive
lyrics were just a coincidence but the jury's out on this one so feel free to add your two
cents in the comment section below anyhow this rock band was only active throughout the 1970s
and Lake Shore Drive was their most famous song the song remained in popular culture and in 2017
was featured in the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Elio to Haines Jeremiah dedicated
an entire song to Lakeshore Drive but many other artists and musicians have also honored this great
Road in their work musicians such as Styx Kanye West and Fallout Boy have referenced the drive
in their songs many films set in Chicago such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off The Blues Brother
National Lampoon's Vacation and When Harry Met Sally have featured Lakeshore Drive in
the background of scenes the road has even been featured in video games such as Midtown Madness
and various NASCAR titles which utilize the road as a make-believe race track but in more recent
times the tone has changed and as you'll see in a moment the road has found itself in the
middle of more complicated cultural issues while Lakeshore Drive continued to expand throughout
the 20th century recent and and rather intense attention surfaced in 2020. the Chicago city
council approved an ordinance renaming part of the road in honor of John baptiste's Juan DuSable the
first non-indigenous settler of Chicago disable's early life is unknown but historians determined
that he was born before 1750. many have disputed his nationality but he is generally described as
being of African descent with additional French ancestry between 1769 and 1770 disable was among
a group of Shipwrecked Travelers that landed in New Orleans Louisiana he traveled around the
future United States establishing businesses and famously dealing with the many indigenous
groups he met along the way in 1778 DuSable established his residence in the space we now
known as Chicago Illinois many Native Americans had already lived in the area for years but
Bible was the first immigrant settler to live there permanently desabo married an indigenous
woman that same year and settled into the future land of Chicago as they lived together near Lake
Michigan in a space not far from what would become Lake Shore Drive over a century later
so many passionately believed that the road should be named after this early settler in
fact this topic has been ongoing for over 30 years with the first proposal posted in 1993 the effort
was led by local politicians Tony precwinkle and Madeleine Hathcock let them forgive me if I
mispronounced the name anyhow while reporting this early effort the Chicago Tribune noted
that this proposal was unlikely to pass it was rejected by high-ranking local officials such
as the transportation committee chairman Patrick houles who said there was quote so much renaming
things that things are getting pretty confused ultimately then Chicago mayor Richard M Daly
rejected the offer for budgetary reasons and for the most part The Proposal was forgotten
until October of 2019 when Alderman David Moore reintroduced the idea but this time Dynamics were
different you see due to the political attention the BLM movement received in response to the 2020
George Floyd incident this proposal was much more popular and gained significantly more attention
from the public however the formal vote to change the name of Lake Shore Drive was delayed by then
city mayor Lori Lightfoot who Justified this measure by focusing on other efforts to honor
DuSable additionally the proposal was amended to Only Name part of the road after DuSable to
save money this is not an easy situation as on the one hand when you rename an iconic part of
the city people may feel denied of their Heritage on the other hand disable is a significant figure
in American history as unlike most other Settlers of time he maintained a healthy
relationship with the indigenous population by renaming the famous Road in his honor all who
passed through the road will be informed of his greatness and although that's a nice gesture I
will always think of it as Lakeshore Drive the same way I still call the Sears Tower by its
real name and I'd be curious to know where you all stand on the renaming of one of Chicago's
most epic roadways anyhow before wrapping up here today let's take a look at what you'd see should
you travel Lakeshore Drive from start to finish if Travelers were to embark on a journey along
Chicago's Lakeshore Drive from start to finish they would witness a breathtaking view of Lake
Michigan and the skyline of one of America's most vibrant cities starting from Hollywood Avenue they
would first pass by the historic Edgewater Beach Hotel a landmark building that was once one of
the city's most luxurious spaces as they continue South they would see the picturesque Foster Beach
and Montrose Harbor which is a popular destination for boating and fishing although a bit of a detour
further south Travelers would come across the iconic Wrigley Field home to the Chicago Cubs
baseball team yeah I had to fit that in because my aunt lives over there and she's pretty much a
psycho level Cubs fan anyhow continuing South they would see the Belmont and Diversey Harbor
to amazing spots offering stunning views of the city and the lake as Travelers approached the
downtown area they would see the Magnificent Navy Pier which is a bustling entertainment complex
that features a ferris wheel an IMAX theater and various restaurants or shops they would
also pass by Grant Park a sprawling green place that is home to many of the city's most popular
festivals and events Travelers would then approach the renowned Museum campus which houses The Field
Museum the Shed Aquarium and the planetarium this area offers a wealth of Education and cultural
opportunities for visitors of all ages as they near the end of the Drive Travelers would come
across the historic picturesque University of Chicago which boasts a beautiful campus and a
rich academy of History finally they would reach the End of the Road Jackson Park where they can
admire the famous Golden Lady statue as they take in the beauty of Chicago's Lakefront overall a
journey along Chicago's Lakeshore Drive offers an unforgettable experience that combines stunning
Natural Beauty with cultural and historical landmarks not unlike that of New Jersey's
Garden State Parkway an episode you can watch next by clicking right here or here or here who
knows anymore anyways make sure you also subscribe until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off