{"id":911702,"date":"2026-07-04T09:32:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T09:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/911702\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T09:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T09:32:18","slug":"today-in-chicago-history-municipal-navy-pier-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/911702\/","title":{"rendered":"Today in Chicago History: Municipal (Navy) Pier opens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 4, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n<p>Is an important event missing from this date? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/04\/july-4-chicago-history\/mailto:krumore@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Email us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"9TdRYoCHg4\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/06\/25\/vintage-chicago-tribune-major-american-anniversaries\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vintage Chicago Tribune: How the city celebrated America\u2019s major anniversaries<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Weather records <\/strong>(from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/wrh\/climate?wfo=lot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High temperature: <strong>102 degrees<\/strong> (2012)<\/li>\n<li>Low temperature: <strong>50 degrees<\/strong> (1972)<\/li>\n<li>Precipitation: <strong>1.72 inches<\/strong> (1995)<\/li>\n<li>Snowfall: <strong>Trace<\/strong> (1995)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"A drawing shows boats full of celebrants as they mark the opening of the Illinois &amp; Michigan Canal in 1848. (Chicago History Museum)\" width=\"3634\" height=\"387\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-ILLINOIS-MICHIGAN-CANAL-CT0131945914.jpg\" \/>A drawing shows boats full of celebrants as they mark the opening of the Illinois &amp; Michigan Canal in 1848. (Chicago History Museum)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1836:<\/strong> Construction of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilsos.gov\/departments\/archives\/teaching_packages\/I_and_M_canal\/home.html#:~:text=In%20ceremonies%20near%20Chicago%20the%20first%20ground%20of%20the%20I%20and%20M%20was%20broken%20on%20July%204%2C%201836.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Illinois and Michigan Canal<\/a> commenced at Canalport on the Chicago River.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1847:<\/strong> The first recorded sports competition was mentioned in the pages of the Tribune. About 5,000 spectators gathered to watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/1997\/08\/10\/the-150-most-memorable-moments-in-chicago-sports-3\/#:~:text=120%3A%20FUN%20ON,or%20show%20betting.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">three contestants compete in a half-mile race<\/a>: a quarter-mile to a pole, around the pole, then back to the starting point.<\/p>\n<p>The three contestants were described as a barber named Louis Isbell, a Native American named White Foot and an unidentified \u201cpioneer\u201d atop a horse. Isbell beat White Foot by inches. The horse finished third due to his inability to cut the corner at the quarter-mile pole. This cost the horse and its pioneer rider their early lead. The report did not mention whether there was place or show betting.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"The Plan of Chicago shows Grant Park and a proposed harbor in the lake. Much of Daniel Burnham's plan for the layout of the city was implemented. (Chicago History Museum)\" width=\"3069\" height=\"344\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ctc-89397991.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24561353\" \/>The Plan of Chicago shows Grant Park and a proposed harbor in the lake. Much of Daniel Burnham&#8217;s plan for the layout of the city was implemented. (Chicago History Museum)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1909:<\/strong> Daniel Burnham\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2013\/11\/03\/daniel-burnham-the-man-with-a-plan-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Plan of Chicago<\/a> was unveiled.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"&quot;No city in the world has any structure on the water front that compares with the new Municipal pier,&quot; the Tribune reported the day after its grand opening on July 4, 1916. (Chicago Tribune)\" width=\"1908\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-MUNICIPAL-PIER-OPENED-1916-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24548719\" \/>&#8220;No city in the world has any structure on the water front that compares with the new Municipal pier,&#8221; the Tribune reported the day after its grand opening on July 4, 1916. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1916:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagotribune.newspapers.com\/article\/chicago-tribune-50000-find-muncipal-pie\/175818807\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Municipal Pier<\/a> (later known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2012\/01\/08\/navy-piers-zany-past\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Navy Pier<\/a>) opened.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"JOpBsBrGLI\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/02\/vintage-chicago-tribune-navy-pier-the-citys-magnificent-gem-on-lake-michigan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vintage Chicago Tribune: Navy Pier, the city\u2019s magnificent gem on Lake Michigan<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>1929:<\/strong> Chicago Cubs outfielder Hack Wilson, irked at the bench jockeying by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ray Kolp, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2004\/06\/20\/cubs-tales-sox-yarns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">jumped into the Cincinnati dugout<\/a>, seeking to punch his tormentor. Wilson was ejected from the Cubs\u2019 victory. That night, while both the Cubs and Reds awaited their trains in Chicago\u2019s Union Station, Wilson punched out Reds pitcher Pete Donahue.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"French tennis player Henri Cochet leaps during the Men's Doubles Final at Wimbledon, in London on July 4, 1931. His partner was compatriot Jacques Brugnon and the opposition were American players George Lott and John van Ryn. (AP)\" width=\"3000\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-AP-GEORGE-LOTT-WIMBLEDON-1931-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24549338\" \/>French tennis player Henri Cochet leaps during the Men&#8217;s Doubles Final at Wimbledon, in London on July 4, 1931. His partner was compatriot Jacques Brugnon and the opposition were American players George Lott and John van Ryn. (AP)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1931:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagotribune.newspapers.com\/article\/chicago-tribune-george-lott-has-hand-in\/175819629\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Lott<\/a> \u2014 who called himself \u201cthe best doubles player ever\u201d \u2014 won both the men\u2019s doubles and mixed doubles championships at Wimbledon. The Big Ten champion at the University of Chicago in the 1920s won his second Wimbledon doubles title in 1934 and had five U.S. Championships doubles titles.<\/p>\n<p>Lott coached DePaul University\u2019s tennis team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/1991\/10\/16\/de-pauls-lott-doubles-his-fun\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">into his 80s<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"The American Negro Exposition at the Chicago Coliseum, looking north in the Hall of Flags, which covers more than 52,000 feet of floor space. (Chicago Tribune archive)\" width=\"5673\" height=\"311\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-CTHIST-CTHIST-AVQ-895-CT_Fb_226344871.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24549401\" \/>The American Negro Exposition at the Chicago Coliseum, looking north in the Hall of Flags, which covers more than 52,000 feet of floor space. (Chicago Tribune archive)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1940:<\/strong> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2020\/06\/12\/flashback-american-negro-exposition-set-out-to-show-the-successes-of-black-america-but-the-white-establishment-had-its-own-agenda\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">American Negro Exposition<\/a>, showcasing Black people\u2019s accomplishments in the 75 years since Juneteenth, opened at the Chicago Coliseum.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis walks a goat at Wrigley Field on May 4, 1994, to help end the Cubs record home losing streak. (Chris Walker\/Chicago Tribune) \" width=\"3203\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ctc-547084.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"38025789\" \/>Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis walks a goat at Wrigley Field on May 4, 1994, to help end the Cubs record home losing streak. (Chris Walker\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1973:<\/strong> Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis and goat Socrates <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagotribune.newspapers.com\/article\/chicago-tribune-in-the-wake-of-the-news\/175819897\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">arrived at Wrigley Field in a limousine<\/a>, but were turned away at every gate. Sianis\u2019 uncle and another goat were banned from Wrigley Field almost 28 years prior.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Lt5XQdAjEN\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/05\/15\/sam-sianis-billy-goat-chicago-dies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sam Sianis of the Billy Goat, Chicago\u2019s most famous saloonkeeper, dies at 91<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Eleven years later, Sianis \u2014 and a goat \u2014 were finally allowed inside the ballpark.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Thousands of people attended the first Taste of Chicago on Michigan Avenue at Wacker Drive on July 4, 1980. (Michael Budrys\/Chicago Tribune)\" width=\"2116\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-MET-AJ-1980-1-TASTE_189809391.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24344213\" \/>Thousands of people attended the first Taste of Chicago on Michigan Avenue at Wacker Drive on July 4, 1980. (Michael Budrys\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1980:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/enews.chicagotribune.com\/q\/2vwE-jbLbO-0YSgEcwr_SlUst32gQxD92N5gZcOJa2pydW1vcmVAZ21haWwuY29tw4gxJN7muAzfqXL5X3ztIMQHJMOXfg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/enews.chicagotribune.com\/q\/2vwE-jbLbO-0YSgEcwr_SlUst32gQxD92N5gZcOJa2pydW1vcmVAZ21haWwuY29tw4gxJN7muAzfqXL5X3ztIMQHJMOXfg&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1751637786635000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Rp4SdJSReOpt3PFSH7hZR\">Taste of Chicago<\/a>\u00a0debuted on North Michigan Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the city\u2019s big summer blowout was a different event \u2014 ChicagoFest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1991:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagotribune.newspapers.com\/article\/chicago-tribune-tastes-finale-may-be-al\/175819049\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Replacements<\/a> played the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park as part of a free concert during Taste of Chicago. It would be the band\u2019s last concert for 22 years.<\/p>\n<p>Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to the free\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/membership.chicagotribune.com\/newsletters\/subscribe\/lid\/2d8200fe-eefd-4f1d-bcaa-26a0ce79a461\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/membership.chicagotribune.com\/newsletters\/subscribe\/lid\/2d8200fe-eefd-4f1d-bcaa-26a0ce79a461\">Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/762760217263236\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/762760217263236\/\">Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/tag\/chicago-history\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vintagetribune\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vintagetribune\/\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n<p>Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/04\/july-4-chicago-history\/mailto:krumore@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/04\/july-4-chicago-history\/mailto:mmather@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 4, according to the Tribune\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":911703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[368628,325541,960,1271,6387,368625,5386,1818,28574,368626,325537,170894,368627,1272],"class_list":["post-911702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-american-negro-exposition","tag-billy-goat","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicago-history","tag-daniel-burnham","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-july-4","tag-plan-of-chicago","tag-sam-sianis","tag-taste-of-chicago","tag-the-replacements","tag-wrigley-field"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116861021566900640","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}