Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City

Description

Sports fans nationwide know Soldier Field as the home of the Chicago Bears. For decades its signature columns provided an iconic backdrop for gridiron matches. But few realize that the stadium has been much more than that. Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City explores how this amphitheater evolved from a public war memorial into a majestic arena that helped define Chicago. Chicago Tribune staff writer Liam Ford led the reporting on the stadium’s controversial 2003 renovation—and simultaneously found himself unearthing a dramatic history. As he tells it, the tale of Soldier Field truly is the story of Chicago, filled with political intrigue and civic pride. Designed by Holabird and Roche, Soldier Field arose through a serendipitous combination of local tax dollars, City Beautiful boosterism, and the machinations of Mayor “Big Bill” Thompson. The result was a stadium that stood at the center of Chicago’s political, cultural, and sporting life for nearly sixty years before the arrival of Walter Payton and William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Ford describes it all in the voice of a seasoned reporter: the high school football games, track and field contests, rodeos, and even NASCAR races. Photographs, including many from the Chicago Park District’s own collections, capture these remarkable scenes: the swelling crowds at ethnic festivals, Catholic masses, and political rallies. Few remember that Soldier Field hosted Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr., Judy Garland and Johnny Cash—as well as Grateful Dead’s final show. Soldier Field captures the dramatic history of Chicago’s stadium on the lake and will captivate sports fans and historians alike.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  Soldier Field

  • 2005
  • 63 pages
  • Paperback
  • Pomegranate

Similar books

• 

  Unbreakable: 50 Goals in 39 Games: Wayne Gretzky and the Story of Hockey's Greatest Record

  By Mike Brophy, Todd Denault

  Inundated with offers, Gretzky's agent Gus Badali added Michael Barnett to Number ... took time to visit the set of the popular television show M*A*S*H, ...

• 

  A Season in Time: Super Mario, Killer, St. Patrick, the Great One, and the Unforgettable 1992-93 NHL Season

  By Todd Denault

  ... Roger Neilson formany years,”Olczyknow remembers, “and as soon asI stepped into the room he bluntly toldme that the trade had been Neil Smith'sdeal.

• 

  The Boston Red Sox Fan Book

  By David S. Neft, Michael L. Neft, Bob Carroll

  Before the deal could be completed , however , the player's union voiced its ... Todd Walker left as a free agent and was replaced by Mark Bellhorn ...

• 

  Sports Scandals

  By Peter S. Finley, Laura L. Finley, Jeffrey Fountain

  TODD BERTUZZI DISGRACES HOCKEY All-Star right-winger Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks lost ... The case generated a great deal of media attention.

• 

  Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Canadiens Stories Ever Told

  By Robert S. Lefebvre

  Subsequently, Savard and the team issued a standard “we will deal with this ... Describing the trade, Todd colorfully termed the blunder as “a full-scale ...

• 

  Fighting Irish: Legends, Lists, and Lore

  By Karen Croake Heisler

  Nineteen-year-old captain Al Fortin, who had been playing for Notre Dame for four years, blocked a field goal attempt to preserve the standoff.

• 

  NBA Coaches Playbook: Techniques, Tactics, and Teaching Points

  By National Basketball Coaches Association

  The special plays section, featuring many of the book's 450-plus Xs and Os diagrams, will be especially popular among coaches seeking the out-of-bounds and last-second plays that work when the game is on the line.

• 

  Pebble Beach: The Official Golf History

  By Hotelling Neal Dost Joanne, Neal Hotelling

  There was a three-way tie at 85 with Mclaughlin, Kenneth Monteagle of San Francisco, and R. Walker Salisbury of Salt lake city, a four-time Utah amateur champion. an 18-hole playoff was required after the match play was finished. after ...

• 

  Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR

  By Neal Thompson

  ... Franklin D., 18, 43,147,157 Roper, Jim, 289, 292, 293 Rose, Mauri, 184,204, 207 Rubirosa, Porfirio, 348 Rum, 55, 56 Russell, D.C. “Fat,” 200, 204, 205, 224, 277m Ruth, Babe, 7, 359 Salisbury, North Carolina, 107, 109 Samples, Eddie, ...

• 

  Team Spirit: Life and Leadership on One of the World's Toughest Yacht Races

  By Brendan Hall

  The 2010 winner was 28-year-old Brendan Hall and his crew in Spirit of Australia.