Mayor Promotes New "Northerly Island"

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, architect Jeanne Gang and other officials
tour the Northerly Island site on Tuesday. (via Chicago Tribune)

Back in May we did a post about how the "new" Northerly Island was amazingly taking shape (as evidenced by this side by side picture).

Well yesterday, the PR patrol was out and about touting the changes at the "island" (via Chicago Tribune):

Work on transforming the southern 40 acres of Northerly Island into a six-ecosystem nature park is well underway, and the area is set to be partially open to the public this fall, officials said Tuesday. 

 “(People) can come out and expect to see a remarkable site that has changed dramatically,” said Kirston Buczak, Chicago District project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which managed the initial phase of renovations to the 91-acre man-made peninsula. 

By this fall, visitors will be able to use a pathway that will traverse a wetland area, hills up to about 30 feet high, a campground and two overlooks. Some areas will be fenced off to protect newly planted vegetation.

A new spin on the project that we've never heard (but actually makes some sense) was presented by our Mayor:

The mayor said the idea is to tie Northerly Island's outdoor classroom to the Museum Campus to the north.  

“There is going to be, when we're done, no museum campus that will take the study of the stars, the study of the water and study of natural history — the Field, the Adler and the Shedd — and put it together like we have here in making sure that (the natural habitats on Northerly Island are) part of that Museum Campus, nowhere else in the country, nowhere else in the world,” Emanuel said.

We like the idea of the new Northerly Island, but truth be told are slightly worried that it will now get crowded.  In the past it was such a remote sanctuary that felt unique and hidden to the rest of Chicago.

That will probably change.  Hopefully for the better, but we will see.