Pulling up to Chicago by boat used to mean settling for distance. Navy Pier sat right there on the skyline, but the nearest recreational dock was somewhere else entirely. That changed in 2025, when Navy Pier Marina gave boaters a way to tie up at one of the most recognizable addresses on Lake Michigan. The crew at Navy Pier Marina sent us the story of more than a century of waterfront history that led to this moment. Here it is, in their words.
For more than a century, Chicago’s Navy Pier has stood at the crossroads of commerce, culture, patriotism, and recreation, evolving from a bustling shipping hub and naval training center into one of the Midwest’s most recognizable waterfront destinations. Today, with the addition of Navy Pier Marina, the Pier enters yet another chapter in its long and storied history: becoming Chicago’s true front door for boaters arriving by water.
The story begins with architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham, whose groundbreaking 1909 Plan of Chicago envisioned a lakefront designed not only for industry, but for the people of Chicago themselves. Burnham believed the waterfront should serve as both an economic engine and a public gathering place—a bold concept at a time when industrial infrastructure often dominated urban shorelines.
After Burnham’s death, architect Charles Sumner Frost carried the vision forward with the design of Municipal Pier No. 2, the world’s first dual-purpose pier created for both shipping and civic life. When the Pier opened in 1916, Chicagoans flooded its promenades, theaters, exhibition halls, and docks. Excursion steamers, freight vessels, concerts, festivals, and public events quickly transformed the structure into one of the city’s busiest destinations.
1916 - Photo credit: Chicago History Museam
But the Pier’s role shifted dramatically during times of war. During World War I, the Pier became home to military regiments, Red Cross operations, and naval recruits supporting the war effort. In 1927, the structure was officially renamed Navy Pier to honor the thousands of servicemen who had trained and mobilized there during the conflict.
Its most significant military chapter arrived during World War II. Navy Pier became the nation’s largest naval training center, processing and training more than 60,000 U.S. Navy personnel as America mobilized for war. Young sailors drilled along the lakefront, honed their skills, and prepared for deployment across the globe. Among those who passed through the Pier was future President George H. W. Bush, who trained there before becoming one of the youngest aviators in Navy history.
~1943 - Photo credit: National Archives
The Pier also hosted notable military leaders, entertainers supporting troop morale, and public figures who visited throughout the war years. At a time when Chicago served as a critical transportation and manufacturing hub, Navy Pier stood as a symbol of both civic pride and national service.
Following the war, the Pier adapted once again, serving as the first Chicago campus for the University of Illinois for nearly two decades. Nicknamed “Harvard on the Rocks,” thousands of returning veterans attended classes there under the GI Bill, helping shape a new postwar generation.
1948 - Photo credit: Chicago Tribune
By the 1960s and ’70s, however, changing freight patterns and modern convention facilities left much of the Pier underutilized. Its revival began in earnest during the late 1980s and early 1990s, championed by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley and civic leaders determined to restore the waterfront as a destination for residents and visitors alike. When the reimagined Navy Pier reopened in 1995, complete with restaurants, attractions, shops, entertainment venues, and the now-iconic Ferris wheel, it quickly reclaimed its place as one of Chicago’s defining landmarks.
1978 (Chicagofest) Phot credit: Kevin Horan, Chicago History Museum
The next several decades brought even more transformation. Expanded green space, cultural programming, public art, the Centennial Wheel, rooftop entertainment venues, immersive attractions, theaters, museums, and festivals helped position Navy Pier as one of the most visited tourism destinations in the Midwest.
Now, the newest evolution of the Pier reconnects Chicago directly to its maritime roots.
Navy Pier Marina, 2025
After years of planning and development, Navy Pier Marina officially opened in 2025, giving transient, recreational, and commercial boaters unprecedented access to the heart of Chicago by water. For the first time in generations, boaters can dock directly at one of the city’s most iconic destinations and step immediately into everything Navy Pier has to offer, from dining and entertainment to fireworks, museums, festivals, and lakefront events.
In many ways, the marina embodies a full-circle moment: More than 100 years after Burnham first imagined a lakefront where civic life and maritime activity could coexist, Navy Pier continues to evolve while remaining tightly connected to the water that shaped Chicago itself.
From naval recruits preparing for world war to modern boaters enjoying a weekend on Lake Michigan, Navy Pier has always been about connection: to the city, to the shoreline, and to the generations who have passed through its docks. Today, as Chicago’s waterfront enters a new era, the Pier and its new Marina remain exactly what they aspire to be: Chicago’s favorite gathering place on the water.
Whether you're running the Great Loop, cruising with a group, or just plotting a midsummer Chicago getaway by water, Navy Pier Marina gives recreational boaters a place to tie up where the city already gathers. After more than a century, the Pier finally has a front door for boaters, and it's one worth walking through. Check out more of their amenities and book your visit on Dockwa.
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