FROM THE ARCHIVES - Soldier Field

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It is the venue by the lake that has hosted music concerts, religious events, civil rights protests, sports competitions, and much more for nearly 100 years. Today we're talking about Soldier Field FAC. I'm Tommy Henry, and this is the Chicago History podcast. After the success of the World's Fair in 1893, Chicago began to slip in its standing in the minds of the people. Maybe the city was riding off the good press it received from the Columbian NORP exposition, but things were definitely headed south. Judge Lambert Tree PERSON, an early city booster and patron of the arts, wrote of his beloved Chicago in 1900, quote, her filthy and rotting streets, her dilapidatedand decaying bridges, and her dirty and dingy city hall, in whose chambers and corridors lurk all the diseases, incident to uncleanliness and foul atmosphere, tend to impress the stranger with the conviction that he is in a city already advanced on the road of decadence. End quote. Six years later, in 1906, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle WORK_OF_ART exposed the brutality of the meatpacking industry here. It was obvious to many that Chicago was giving a pass to the polluted air, open prostitution, and disgusting waterways.The 1909 Burnham Plan discussed in various Chicago History podcast episodes was meant to beautify Chicago and truly make it one of the greatest cities in the world. While that plan envisioned many amazing works, it could not have predicted a stadium dedicated to those who fought in a war that wouldn't begin for another five years. In early July, 1918, five months before the end of World War I EVENT, a committee was formed to push for a temporary memorial with a permanent one to follow. Edward Bennett, Daniel Burnham's collaborator on the 1909 plan, who at this time wasalso the South Park Commission's ORG lead architect, was put in charge of gathering design proposals for the new building. One Chicago artist, Oscar D. Solner PERSON, pitched an obelisk similar to the Washington monument that could be seen for miles. The official Memorial Committee ORG recommended the building have colonnades and a 500-foot tower topped with a statue. This building and other public works projects of the time were promoted as a way to help those soldiers returning from the war, re-enter the workforce, and stimulate the economy. Of course, behind the scenes, the constructionwould also generate profits to the right people through Chicago cronyism. You're shocked, I bet, but yes, because Chicago, even 100 years ago, contracts were being awarded to those in shady ways in too many instances to get into here. I will say this. The mayor at the time was William Big Bill Thompson. And if you aren't familiar with that guys, pocketlining shenanigans. Check out episode 117 of this very podcast. The Plan Commission ORG felt strongly that places like this new memorial were important in numerous ways, stating, quote, the public health ample means for healthful recreation,which were of fundamental importance before the war, now become matters of absolute necessity, and quote. The winning entry was from the architecture firm Hollabird and Roche ORG, who designed a U-shaped stadium in neoclassical style that was open on the north end by the Field Museum ORG. Their original design also included a towering obelisk four times as tall as the top of the colonnade. Although the jury's decision was unanimous in favor of Halliburton Roach's ORG design,they were unable to approve all aspects of the design due primarily to budget concerns as the U.S. GPE was struggling to come out from under the post-war recession. Ground was broken on July 19, 1922, with contractors Blom Sinek, who had built Wrigley Field FAC, on board for a construction estimate of $2.3 million. That's slightly more than $38 million in today's money. Brace yourself for this one.Cost overruns, pretty well expected in Chicago since time began, drove up the cost to a stated $8.5 million. But according to Liam, T.A. Ford, in his fascinating book, Soldier Field FAC, a stadium, and its city, even that number likely did not include all of the expenses. As the area was primarily unfinished landfill, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company ORG was brought in to fill in the rest of the land. There were engineering challenges building on this marshy land, to be sure.There were strikes. There was a theft of the payroll at Blom-Sinich FAC and damage to the under-construction stadium due to the harsh winter of 1923 into 1924. By late August, 1944, the new stadium had the first of its dedicatory events and athletic meet with Chicago policemen competing to raise money for the Chicago Police Benevolent Association ORG, providing support to police widows and those officers disabled while on the job. The first winner of an athletic contest at the stadium was Sergeant John Walsh of the CPD ORG's traffic division who threw a 16-pound hammer 132 feet 10 inches.The next day, 1,200 police officers informal dress blues paraded through the still-under-construction arena. There were enough seats in place at the time to accommodate 60,000 people, and about 45,000 showed up. Fireworks, music by two police bands, and a chariot race were part of the presentation. Now, I realized I haven't used the name Soldier Field FAC much so far, instead calling it the arena or the stadium. This is because the original name of the structure was Grant Park Municipal Stadium or just Grand Park Stadium FAC.More on that in a moment. Two significant pageants celebrating Chicago's culture were held in September of 1924. The first included school children who received singing lessons at South Park Fieldhouses FAC, joining professional musicians in the pageant of music and light. At both the beginning and the end of the event, red lights lit up the colonnades the first time they were illuminated at night.Approximately 3,000 children marched into the stadium from the north end carrying lanterns, some as tall as four feet, that's the lanterns, not the kids, which they had made at South Park Playground Craft Classes ORG. The kids forated on the field until they formed a giant wheel, then set down their lights, and joined a 1,500 voice adult chorus in the East Stans FAC. After a number of selections were sung,the evening was capped off with the singing of America the Beautiful. Less than two weeks later, the South Park Commission ORG held another dedication ceremony by bringing hundreds of schoolchildren back to the field, encouraging attendees to wear costumes that reflected their ethnic heritage. I mean, let's be honest, if you're going to try to lock down public support in Chicago, atleast in 1924, helping the cops raise money for widows and by letting kids run around in handmade costumes is a pretty smart way to do it. The official opening date of Grant Park Municipal Stadium was October 9th, 1924. That date coincided with the 53rd anniversary of the Great Fire of 1871 EVENT. For Chicago Day, as it was known, space for 60,000 people was made available to witness a free show featuring a 21-gun salute,speeches, flag-raising, feats of horsemanship by Fort Sheridan FAC soldiers, exhibitions by Mounted Police, and, according to the National Hotel Reporter ORG newspaper, other interesting events. For those of you thinking, what other interesting events I must know? Well, eight veterans of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 EVENT were to stage an exhibition of antique firefighting. Following ahooffing contest, whatever that was, by a great, great, great, great granddaughter of Mrs. O'Leary PERSON's cow. A replica of Mrs. O'Leary PERSON's barn was scheduled to be burned. The veteran firefighters would then put out the fire using the Fire King, Chicago's historic hand-pump engine, to show how they battled the flames that decimated much of the city 53 years before. Right after that, modern firefighters, at least the 1924 version of modern, staged a fire in a specially constructed three-story building,which they then put out after performing some spectacular rescues. After the fire drills, a polo match was held. I'd love to travel back in time to talk to the guy who decided the events of that day. The first football game at what would become Soldier Field occurred in November of 1924 when Notre Dame faced off against Northwestern ORG. On Armistice Day, later known as Veterans Day, November 11th, 1925,Grant Park Municipal Stadium was renamed Soldier Field FAC. Now, if you've heard people, especially older folks, call it Soldiers Field FAC, much like Chicagoans call local grocery store Jewel ORG, the Jewels, there is actually a reason for that. The Chicago Tribune objected to the grammatical choice of renaming the field after a single soldier, and often referred to it as Soldier's field in print until the early 1970s.For Catholics NORP of Chicago, June 20th through the 24th of 1926, saw the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, a large gathering of Catholics, focus on the Catholic NORP faith in the city. This was the first International Eucharistic Congress held in the U.S. GPE, and only the second held in North America LOC, so kind of a big deal. The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George Mundelline PERSON, organized the event, which took place at a few locations in the Chicago area, including Soldier Field, on day two.Called Children's Day, it was reported 400,000 faithful showed up at the stadium and the surrounding area, including a chorus of 62,000 children. Soldier Field welcomed the biggest crowd ever to attend a football game up until that point on November 27, 1926, when it hosted the 29th annual Army Navy game. This was also the date of Soldier Field's formal dedication in the crowd of 110,000 spectators, was Notre Dame coach Newt Rockney PERSON, who considered the Army-Navy game in Chicago so important he missed a game his own Fighting Irish played against Carnegie Tech the same day. In what was the biggest boxing match up until that time,heavyweight champion Gene Tunney PERSON and former champion Jack Dempsey boxed at Soldier Field on September 22nd, 1927, in the infamous long countabout. This event was a rematch from a fight held the previous year in which Tunney defeated Dempsey PERSON the favorite. This fight broke two records, breaking the $1 million and$2 million gate for a single boxing competition, bringing in nearly $2.7 million. That's about $42.5 million in today's money. The long-count reference refers to a controversial decision by the referee in the seventh round, during which Dempsey knocked Tunney PERSON down. The referee didn't begin the 10-count until Dempsey PERSON had moved to a neutral corner,allowing Toney an extra five seconds to recuperate. Toney went on to win the fight, angering many who had wagered on Dempsey PERSON to win. Soldier Field welcomed the biggest crowd ever to attend a college football game up until that point on November 27, 1926, when it hosted the Army Navy game. 110,000 people were on hand to watch the two teams battle to a tie. One year later, on November 26, 1927, visitors had the opportunity to see Notre Dame take on Southern California at Soldier Field FAC. This was a big deal for a few reasons.This was the first time a far western college team had played in Chicago, and the attendance record for a football game of any type was once again broken as an estimated 123,000 showed up to watch this pairing, Notre Dame 1,7 to 6. Part of the fun of compiling info for this episode was learning about all the different uses. Soldier Field, so closely identified with the Chicago Bears ORG and football, has had over the past nearly 100 years.Rodeos? Yep. Stock car and midget car races? You got it. Motorcycle? Polo? I mean, and ski jumping? Norwegian immigrants are credited with introducing the sport of ski jumping to America GPE, a sport that enjoyed a boost in popularity after the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Just four years later, Soldier Field FAC welcomed 31,000 people during a snowstorm to watch 82 ski jumpers do their thing from a 13-story ski jumpbuilt over one of the sides of Soldier Field by the U.S. Central Ski Association ORG. This skiing showcase proved so popular the following year, the Norgy Ski Ski Club in northwest suburban Fox River Grove GPE, welcomed 60,000 spectators to Soldier Field to cheer on more than 140 jumpers, utilizing a ginormous 180-foot wooden ski jump. This event was held at Soldier Field twice more in 1938 and 1954. As tough as that may be to imagine, and I will have pictures on the Chicago Historypodcast social media pages, in addition to Soldier Field FAC, that were also ski events held at Wrigley Field FAC at one time. The opening events of the 1933 century of progress, those were held at Soldier Field FAC. Now, imagine 115,000 people showing up for a high school football game. That actually happened in 1937, when Austin bested Leo 26 to 0 at Soldier Field FAC for thecity prep title. Originally, Soldier Field FAC was in the shape of a U, open on the north end by the Field Museum and capable of seating 74,280 spectators. Depending on the event and how much of the field was in use, additional seating could be added to bring the total number to more than 100,000. The stadium was adapted a few more times between Chicago Day in October of 24 and 1938 when Mayor Edward Kelly and the Chicago Park District GPE renovated Soldier Fieldadding new stands on the north end, closing off the former U-shape. After World War II, changes in American culture affected many things, including Soldier Field FAC. Television's and air conditioning were in many homes, so entertainment and outdoor venues with cool lakefront breezes weren't as important. Many who called the city home moved to the suburbs. By the way, that thing when fans attending concerts like matches or lighters,or I guess these days they hold up their cell phones and hit the flashlight mode, according to the Chicago Tribune, that got its start at a Chicago Music Festival event in 1939. Not at Soldier Field, but in the west side's Garfield Park FAC, where the fest originated that year. It eventually made its way to Soldier Field and became a big deal for decades to come. There were other notables who appeared at Soldier Field FAC for various reasons like Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and even presidents, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt PERSON,who made his only Midwestern speaking appearance during his fourth and final re-election campaign on October 28, 1944. That speech was attended by more than 150,000 supporters with another 150,000 unable to gain admission. Listeners of the podcast will recall it was FDR, who was with Chicago Mayor Anton Sermak when Sermak was felled by an Assassin's Bullet in 1933. Roosevelt would die in office less than six months after his appearance at Soldier Field at the age of 63. Possibly the largest event ever held at Soldier Field was in September of 1954 when 280,000 attended the Marian Year Tribute, an important event in the history of the Catholic Church ORG.Only two international Marion years have been pronounced, the first by Pope Pius X, 12th in 1954, and the other by Pope John Paul II in 1987. In 1966, the Chicago Freedom Movement ORG, a civil rights effort led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. PERSON, was held at SoldierField to a crowd of 75,000. The campaign is credited with drawing attention to the plight of African Americans NORP and is largely credited with inspiring the 1968 Fair Housing Act. By the mid to late 60s, Soldier Field was sliding into irrelevance, while attendance in some years during the 1950s top 2 million visitors. By the second half of the 1960s, those numbers sunk as low as a quarter million. Soldier Field needed something big to save it, and that something big was the Chicago Bears ORG. It is still hard to believe the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley Field for the first 50 years of their existence in Chicago, eventually outgrowing that venue.Their move to Soldier Field in 1971, originally just a three-year agreement was extended in 1978 for another 20 years. It was also in 1978 that the plank seating began to be replaced with individual stadium seats. Soldier Field, after being in use for more than 60 years, was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987. Just when you think Soldier Field might be out of firsts, on June 17, 1994, the City of Chicago welcomed Soccer's World Cup EVENT attendees to Soldier Field FAC for the opening ceremony. The ceremony may be best remembered when,while introducing singer Diana Ross PERSON, M.C. Oprah Winfrey PERSON fell off the platform. There have been many, many, many live music concerts at Soldier Field, including performers like Paul McCartney, Beyonce and Jay Z, Rolling Stones ORG, U2, Connie West, Kenny Chesney, The Grateful Dead, Taylor Swift, N-Sync, Dave Matthews, Pink Floyd PERSON, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica ORG, and many others too numerous to get into. But I will likely do an extras episode to cover a few stories I can't fit in today.In 2000, Mayor Richard M. Daly and Illinois Governor George Ryan PERSON struck a deal to revamp the stadium and keep the Bears ORG in place, what could go wrong. June 19, 2002 saw the Chicago Bears lose to the Philadelphia Eagles 33 to 19 in the last game played at the old stadium. Once the crowds departed, 200 workers began pulling out the seats at the north end of the stadiumwith crowbars, the same seats that were part of the $32 million renovation done in the 1980s. That same renovation, the Chicago Park District claimed, would make Soldier Field FAC usable for another 50 years. They were off by about 30 years. another 50 years. They were off by about 30 years.20 months later, at a cost of $632 million, Soldier Field FAC reopened. Sure, it was still framed by the neoclassical columns. Many Chicagoans could spot from a half mile away. And while there were some improvements, overall, the reviews were not kind. The Chicago Tribune's ORG blur came and famously called the renovated soldier field the, quote,I soar on the lakeshore. A significant issue with the renovated stadium, the number of seats dropped to 61,500, less than the NFL's requirement of 70,000 to host a Super Bowl EVENT. The many changes also caused Soldier Field to have its spot on the National Register of Historic Places to be withdrawn in 2006. Quote, for national landmarks, we look more for restoration.David Barna, spokesman for the National Park Service, said at the time, this one crossed the line in terms of too much renovation, end quote. The Independence Day, Flying Saucer that dropped on top of Soldier Field FAC, destroyed the building's historic architecture, said David Balman PERSON, president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois ORG. The city claimed the Soldier Field makeover, promoted by then-Mayor Richard M. Daly PERSON, addedmodern amenities without hurting the stadium's classic architecture. The Chicago Park District, which operates Soldier Field FAC, said through a spokesperson, quote, 90% of the stadium's architectural design was preserved, end quote. I don't think they understand percentages.

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Through the first nearly 22 years of this century, Soldier Field FAC has continued to host the Chicago Bears home games, professional soccer team's Chicago Fire ORG, music concerts, and more. Recent news articles have suggested the Chicago Bears' home games, professional soccer team's Chicago Fire, music concerts, and more.

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Recent news articles have suggested the Chicago Bears ORG may finally make a move to a bigger venue, one with better sight lines, maybe a dome, and one that the family that controls the Bears ORG would own outright instead of having to lease this one. But until then, Soldier Field, at nearly 100 years old, is still the go-to spot to see the monsters of the Midway and other events that help make Chicago the greatest city in the world. Thanks for listening to today's episode about Soldier Field FAC.This episode was written, recorded, and edited by me, Tommy Henry PERSON. As always, if you have any questions about anything covered today, anything to add or have an idea for a future episode, I'd love to hear about it. Send me an email at Chicago HistoryPod ORG at gmail.com. I have links to various books and items related to this episode's subject if you'd like to learn more. Anything ordered through those links, not just the items listed, may earn a small commission for the podcast and help offset production costs at no cost to you. Check out the Chicago History Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages for articles and pictures related to this episode and past episodes posted throughout the week.The original art for the Chicago History podcast used on the social media pages was created by John K. Schneider PERSON. I love you, Johnny. He can be found at Angel Eyesart, JKS ORG on Instagram, or via email at Angel Eyesart, JKS at Gmail.com. I will be back soon with more stories from Chicago's history. Until then, get out and explore when possible. Learn more about whatever city you live in and stay safe.