RESTAURANT ROW
McCormick Place
overlooks Burnham
Harbor, Meigs Field,
Lake Michigan, the
Planetarium, and
downtown. Instead of
capitalizing on
this view, the Lake &
downtown side
of the building is devoted to truck loading docks.
The casual visitor
never sees the
lake and never observes the
spectacular view of sailboats,
airplanes, and bicyclists.
Additional restaurants at McCormick Place are also needed. The fast food and dining locations in the building are limited--certainly not what a world class city should offer to the large number of visitors who spend substantial portions of their time in the city's convention center. A festival marketplace should be included.
RESTAURANT ROW should be constructed on the lake and downtown side of McCormick Place. RESTAURANT ROW could be located above the truck loading docks, with no new projection out towards the Lake.
Development of RESTAURANT ROW should be a public/ private venture. If correctly planned and properly marketed, RESTAURANT ROW should provide a substantial profit to both entrepreneurs and the city. RESTAURANT ROW would make conventions more pleasant. The facility would be similar to the successful "festival marketplace" developments that have occurred in numerous cities, providing many new jobs to the City. It should be developed.