Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois

At the turn of the 19th century, the 319 acres that would be designated as Grant Park, was deeded to the commissioners of the Illinois and Michigan Canals. The city of Chicago officially designated the area as "Lake Park'', on April 29th, 1844. For awhile the area went undeveloped, until 1896, when city began extending the park area over the landfill and lagoon. The Chicago South Park Commission took responsibility for the park and development in 1896. On October 9th, 1901, the park was officially renamed Grant Park, after the United States President Ulysses S. Grant.

Because of legal restrictions, there were many building constructed on the grounds of the park. The park was the original site of the baseball diamond where the now Chicago Cubs, used to play. Daniel Burham wanted to develop the land for business purposes; however the move was fought vehemently in lawsuits against the City of Chicago, by Aaron Montgomery Ward. Ward wanted the city to clean up and improve the park area; the one exception Ward made was to allow for the construction of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1892.

The Chicago South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers to develop a new design scheme to beautify and improve the park in 1903. The brother's design plans were published in 1907, and included a more formal look designed around French landscaping principals. Further modifications were made to the park and a railway system, landscaped gardens and paths were added.

The park continued to expand in the area over landfills and early in the 20th century, the Chicago Tunnel Company did further excavations and the park was formally landscaped by Edward Bennett. In the 1910's and 1920's further landfill expansion allowed the park to become the site for the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History and Shedd Aquarium, both of which were linked together in 1998, by the Museum Campus.

Over the years, the park has been the location for many civic and historical events. Visitors have included Pope John Paul the II, and the park was the location for the Chicago Bulls championship celebrations. In more recent years, the park has hosted several of the most prestigious festivals in the city such as; Taste of Chicago, the Chicago Blues Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Venetian Nights and from 2005 through the present day and until the year 2011, Lollapalooza.

Several other attractions continue to make Grant Park one of the best places to visit in the city of Chicago. The Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park, Daley Bicentennial Plaza, the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Children's Museum and Lakeshore Trail are all located within the park grounds. Grant Park is the most visited park in Chicago and is often referred to as the "city's front yard''.