Anyone who has visited town or even just seen a picture of Chicago’s lakefront knows what a truly magnificent and unique feature it is.
Nearly untouched by real estate developments, the city’s front yard instead boasts world-class museums, stunning views, historic architecture and is home to Soldier Field and the Chicago Bears. Well, at least for the time being.
The Bears, you see, are sick of hosting games in the NFL’s smallest stadium. City park burdens and a lack of upgrades have left them few options, and it appears a move to suburban Arlington Heights could be on the horizon. The city of Chicago, understandably, doesn’t want the team to go anywhere.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s latest gambit to help persuade the Monsters of the Midway to remain along Lake Michigan was revealed on Thursday, and it’s probably not going to wow the Bears as much as she’d like.
The city unveiled a new vision for the Museum Campus—which, admittedly, could use a tune-up—and made sure to highlight just how much the Bears and Soldier Field are apart of that plan in some very, very strange renderings (and they don’t even include the separate city proposal to put a dome over Soldier Field).
The reimagined Museum Campus will enhance the city’s world-class institutions and important natural spaces with exciting new gathering places, improved physical access, and additional public amenities. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/IM8JBvforJ
— Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 7, 2022
See anyone familiar in those mock-ups? Look closer.
Why, yes, that is Katie Holmes and her daughter Suri causally strolling about the generically named Museum Campus Famers Market outside Soldier Field!
No, we absolutely don’t have a clue why a 2012 image of the two shopping in New York made it into an official Chicago presentation.
In fact, Chicagoans are just as confused as the rest of us.