DuSable Park (Chicago)

The park is located directly east of North Lake Shore Drive and south of Lake Point Tower and Navy Pier, with Lake Michigan to its east. To its north is the entrance to the Ogden Slip and to its south is the mouth of the Chicago River. The canceled Chicago Spire project had been planned for a site just west of DuSable Park, on the other side of Lake Shore Drive. ==History==

Formation Following the construction of the original jetty for the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, lake currents were affected and soil was deposited at the area now known as DuSable Park. In 1857, the State of Illinois sold , including the site later to be known as DuSable Park, to the Chicago Dock and Canal Trust. In 1948, the Chicago Plan Commission passed a resolution excluding use of lakefront property to only recreation or for harbor or terminal facilities for passenger and freight vessels. A new DuSable Park . In July 2005, Christopher Carley of the Fordham Company announced a new development project called the Fordham Spire. The Fordham Company pledged nearly $500,000 to assist in the development of the park, which was to adjoin the site of their new tower. In late 2006, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the project may be going forward with a compromise on the design being reached, but no further financial assistance was promised. In early May of the same year, that offer jumped to $9.6 million. Shelbourne offered their own design of the park which included a northbound ramp onto Lake Shore Drive for the adjacent Chicago Spire. After additional remediation, a new plan was developed in 2023. == Redevelopment concerns ==

The riverside revetment is in need of repair which may cost up to $5.7 million. From 1904 through 1936, the Lindsay Light Company processed ores which contained thorium to manufacture thorium impregnated gas mantles. It was suspected that after the plant closed, contaminated soil was dumped on the location of the proposed park. It was reported that Shelbourne Development would take soil samples to determine the severity of the radioactive contamination. In 2012, the Chicago Park District received funding from the EPA for remediation of the site, bagging the radioactive soil and shipping it to a Superfund site. In summer 2013, the Park District website reported the remediation had been completed by September 2012. ==Park construction==

In 2024, Related Midwest announced the start of construction of its development at 400 Lake Shore Drive on the former Spire site. The first phase includes the build out and opening of DuSable Park. == References ==