Boxed in by some of the most prominent streets in the Chicago area, Michigan Avenue to the west, Lake Shore Drive to the east, Randolph St. to the north and Roosevelt Rd. to the south, if downtown Chicago were a schoolhouse for the city’s businessmen and women, Grant Park would be the playground on which they spent their recess hour. Grant Park has helped to shape the vibrant social life of the Second City since its early days as “Lake Park” back in 1844. Rechristened as Grant Park at the turn of the century, in honor of heroic Civil War General and later the 18^th President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant, the park soon saw widespread improvement and expansion throughout the early part of the 20^th century, as the park’s boundaries were increased to take over former landfills and its grounds were augmented by buildings of cultural and academic value, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History and the Shedd Aquarium.