why is the site of his homestead a half mile from shore today?

Well, it's because this part of Chicago used to be under the surface of Lake Michigan.

Millennium Park?

Well, the Bean would've been a boat if it existed in the 1840s, because Michigan Avenue was lakefront property.

Even back then it was some of the ritziest real estate in Chicago.

It was called Terrace Row.

Now, in the summer, Terrace Row residents luxuriated in their cool lakefront breezes.

But come November, and angry winded waves threatened to wash it all away.

An estimated 20 acres of lakefront had vanished due to powerful waves and erosion.

The fledgling city desperately needed a breakwater to protect Terrace Row residents from Lake Michigan's wrath.

But who would pay for it?

The city saw an angle.

It allowed the Illinois Central Railroad to run its tracks right up the lakefront on a trestle about 100 yards offshore.

And in exchange, the railroad built a sea wall to protect the shoreline.

This early example of The Chicago Way left Terrace Row residents conflicted.

On the one hand, they didn't want their million dollar views spoiled by steam trains belching coal dust, but they didn't want their mansions floating away into the lake either.

Ultimately, the lakefront got railroaded.

(train horn blaring) Fast forward to the 1890s, the lake has been filled in between the shore and the tracks in part with ashes from the Great Chicago Fire creating a makeshift lakefront park.

And Terrace Row townhomes have been replaced by commercial buildings.

One of them is home to a booming mail order business founded by A. Montgomery Ward.

Ward had his offices and warehouse in this building right on Michigan Avenue.

He said he wanted his employees to have the light and fresh air of the lakefront.

But when he looked out his office window, what he saw made his blood boil.

He was appalled by garbage dumps, circuses, and shanty towns that littered what was then called Lake Park.

But Ward's lawyer found salvation in five words written on an old map.

In 1836, the canal commissioners who platted the city had declared that this part of the lakefront should remain, quote, "forever open, clear, and free of any buildings or other obstructions whatever."

For the next 20 years.

In lawsuit after lawsuit, Ward used those five words as a cudgel to clear away the clutter and beat back anyone who wanted to build on this part of the lakefront.

He said he did it for the poor people of Chicago, not the millionaires, but his legal victories cost him time, money, and friends.

Near the end of his life, Ward told the Chicago Tribune, "Had I known in 1890 how long it would take me to preserve a park for the people against their will, I doubt if I would have undertaken it."

(light playful music) Chicago's most famous lions aren't in the zoo.

They've been guarding the entrance to the Art Institute since 1894.

And have you ever noticed, they're not twins.

Artist Edward Kemeys said his northern lion is "on the prowl" and he gave the southern lion a look of "defiance" with eyes in the distance.

Now, if these guys could talk, maybe they could explain how the Art Institute escaped Montgomery Ward's lawsuits and ended up being built right in Lake Park.

The short answer is the museum got the consent of its neighbors.

But it probably didn't hurt that Montgomery Ward was on the Art Institute's board of trustees.

When he died, the museum said the, quote, "watchdog of the Lake Front was always a friend to the Art Institute."

Right, guys?

(lions roar) Lake Park was renamed Grant Park in 1901 to honor the Civil War General and US President.

And by now, it had grown from a narrow strip along the lakefront to 319 acres.

In 1927, Chicago turned on Buckingham Fountain inspired by the Latona Fountain of Versailles in France.

But Chicago's Rococo masterpiece is twice as big as Louis XIV's.

In fact, it's one of the biggest fountains in the world.

Buckingham Fountain sealed Grant Park's reputation as Chicago's front yard.

(bright music) (fountain shimmering) During the Democratic National Convention of 1968, that front yard ended up on front pages all across the country.

An estimated 10,000 protestors rallied in Grant Park united in opposition to the Vietnam War, much to the dismay of Chicago's powerful mayor, Richard J. Daley.

- The intention of these terrorists was openly displayed.

They came to Chicago to disrupt the national political convention and to paralyze our city.

- [Geoffrey] Their planned protest march barely made it out of Grant Park before police moved in.

(crowd yells) (tense music) The whole world was watching, and Grant Park became emblematic of 1960s' turbulence.

But 40 years later, fear and loathing in Grant Park was replaced with hope and change.

- [Crowd] Obama!

Obama!

(crowd cheers) - [Geoffrey] On November 4th, 2008, 200,000 people were there when the TV networks called it- (crowd cheers) And Chicago made history welcoming America's first African American president, Barack Obama.

(crowd cheers) - [Crowd] Yes, we can!