Scenes from Bessie Coleman Park
(click to enlarge)
Key Elements:
(click to link)
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Lookout Point
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Northerly Meadow
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Harborside Promenade |
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Parkscape
In 1921, Bessie Coleman earned her pilot's license (two years before
Amelia Earhart) from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. She was the
only licensed African-American pilot in the world, and was an inspiration to
thousands of aviators, including the famed Tuskegee Airmen. The park at
Meigs Field will honor her pioneering spirit.
One of the keys to Bessie Coleman Park is that it provides the best of
all worlds: the excitement of aviation in an educational environment,
combined with park elements (“parkscape”), open space, activities and
programs for all Chicagoans.
Park features will include:
| A new lakeside overlook and observation parkland, “Lookout Point” on
the east side of the peninsula. |
| New parkland above an underground parking garage for the Museum Campus
(“Northerly Meadow.”) |
| Public facilities along the entire perimeter of Burnham Harbor
(“Harborside Promenade.”) |
| New Chicago Air Museum housed in an expanded existing terminal
building. |
| New Aircraft Restoration Annex for aviation programs in conjunction
with the Chicago Public Schools and city colleges. |
It is believe that the newly added parkland will constitute the largest
new park added to Chicago’s lakefront in over 50 years.
In 1997, the City of Chicago published a proposal for a park on Northerly
Island. Interestingly, nearly all of the elements of that plan can be
incorporated into the plan for Bessie Coleman Park.
The basic premise of Bessie Coleman Park is that Chicago has an
opportunity to create something exceptional, a unique public attraction that
benefits every Chicagoan, at virtually no cost to the taxpayers. |
