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Northerly Island Park in Chicago is a scenic 119-acre green space on Lake Michigan, developed from the original vision of architect Daniel Burnham. Planned as the northernmost of a series of man-made islands in Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, Northerly Island was completed in the 1930s and became a unique public area in the heart of the city. It initially hosted the 1933-34 World’s Fair and later became home to Meigs Field, a small airport serving private and corporate planes from 1947 to 2003.
In 2003, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley had Meigs Field’s runway removed overnight to restore the land for public use. This controversial move paved the way for the ecological restoration of the island, transforming it into the park it is today. Northerly Island now offers walking trails, wildlife habitats, prairie and wetland areas, and the Huntington Bank Pavilion, a popular outdoor concert venue, combining urban nature with recreational and cultural activities.
