A Century at Soldier Field
From the Special Olympics to ski jumping to Springsteen, Chicago’s Soldier Field has been the city’s playground on the lake for 100 years
Construction of Municipal Grant Park Stadium (renamed Soldier Field the following year) (July 12, 1924) by Chicago Daily News, Inc.Chicago History Museum
1920s
In 1919, the South Park Commission hosted a design competition for a new stadium to be built in Grant Park. They selected a plan by architects Holabird and Roche that featured grand colonnades. Construction began in 1922 and ended in 1924.
Originally named Municipal Grant Park Stadium, it was rededicated as “Soldier Field” on Armistice Day, November 11, 1925, to honor the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in World War I.
The Chicago Tribune was not a fan of the new name because of its confusing singular form: “Try to say Soldier Field. Then ask what soldier. . . It’s Soldiers’ Field, now and forever in this space on this newspaper.” The Tribune held onto that apostrophe until the 1970s.
Jack Dempsey (left) and Gene Tunney facing off in a boxing ring constructed in Soldier Field (September 22, 1927) by Chicago Daily News, Inc.Chicago History Museum
One of the earliest events of note held at Soldier Field was the infamous “Long Count Fight" between boxers Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. As this video explains, a decision made by the referee in the 7th round may have given Tunney an advantage, and he won the fight in the end.
Other early events at the stadium included a police field day, a “Chicago Day” featuring a reenactment of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Chicago Roundup Rodeo, and the International Eucharistic Congress, which drew a crowd of approximately 300,000 people.
View of the Italian Pavilion and Soldier Field at the A Century of Progress International Exposition (July 7, 1933) by O. L. CookChicago History Museum
1930s
The A Century of Progress World’s Fair emphasized science and industrial development. Like many preceding world’s fairs, it also showcased “racial” history.
This meant that Soldier Field hosted an array of events that ranged from the launch of Auguste Piccard’s hydrogen stratosphere balloon to the Jewish historical spectacle “The Romance of a People,” one of the most attended events at the Fair.
Jorgen Johansen soars off a ski jump at Soldier Field (1938-02-03) by Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
Soldier Field hosted its first Chicago ski tournament in 1936. For that event, a 13-story tall ski jump was constructed, the world’s tallest manmade ski jump at the time. This was increased to 180 feet for the 1937 and 1938 competitions.
After 1938, Soldier Field would not host ski jumping again until 1954.
1940s
Rallies related to World War II dominated Soldier Field’s programming throughout the 1940s. In 1940, 40,000 people attended an antiwar rally headlined by isolationist Charles Lindbergh. The “Hollywood Cavalcade” visited the stadium in 1943 to raise war bonds.
The 1943 event featured performances by Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire, and others. In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address during his fourth reelection campaign filled Soldier Field to capacity. Pictured here, 1945 was the only year a war bond show coincided with “I Am an American Day,” or what is today known as Constitution Day.
The US's Wilma Rudolph and Lucinda Williams and Panama's Carlota Gooden at the Pan American Games (1959) by Dave Mann for Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
1950s
The 1959 Pan American Games were held at Soldier Field August 27‒September 7. More than 2,200 athletes from 25 countries competed in 166 events. One of those athletes was sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who would become the first US woman to win 3 gold medals in one Olympics in 1960.
1960s
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. first spoke at Soldier Field during the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights on June 21, 1964. Between 50,000 and 75,000 people attended, making it the second largest civil rights rally after the March on Washington.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King addresses a crowd of 65,000 at a Chicago Freedom Movement rally (July 10, 1966) by John Tweedle for Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
King returned to Soldier Field on July 10, 1966, to support the Chicago Freedom Movement, led by the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
After the songs and speeches at Soldier Field concluded, King led marchers downtown, where he taped his demands for a “just and open city” to the doors of city hall.
Athletes compete in the Girls’ 50 Yard Dash at the International Special Olympics at Soldier Field (August 14, 1970) by Pete Peters, Joe Kordick for Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
1970s
In 1968, athletes first competed in the Chicago Special Olympics, the world’s first public games for people with intellectual disabilities. The 1970 Special Olympics (pictured here) hosted more than 2,500 athletes from 45 US states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and France.
Today, the Special Olympics is the only amateur sporting event still routinely held in Soldier Field.
1980s
As the role of amateur sports waned in Soldier Field, the importance of music concerts grew. The Rolling Stones played one of the largest concerts in 1987, after 40,000 fans stormed the field when gates opened at 7:30 a.m.
This concert legacy continues, to which fans of Beyoncé, BTS, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift can attest.
Mia Hamm with fans after a US national women’s soccer team practice (June 23, 1999) by Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
1990s
The US women’s national soccer team played Nigeria at Soldier Field on June 24, 1999. After a worrying early goal from Nigeria only 73 seconds into the match, the US roared to life and scored a record six goals in the first half, ending the match 7–1.
The USWNT would go on to clinch the World Cup victory in an intense final versus China.
Today, Soldier Field still sees soccer play as the home to Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire FC.
Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher explores the new Soldier Field during a night practice (September 18, 2003) by Tom Cruze for Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
2000s
The 2002‒2003 redevelopment of Soldier Field was controversial. The new stadium reduced seating from 74,280 to 66,944, making it the smallest stadium in the NFL. Soldier Field also lost its National Historic Landmark Status in the process.
The enduring comparisons to a spaceship began immediately.
Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald wrote: “It remains inexcusable that the Bears and Mayor Daley conspired to desecrate a war memorial by dropping a spaceship inside the colonnades, and then stuck the public with a $430 million bill.”
Aerial view of Soldier Field (October 19, 2014) by Lee Hogan/Chicago Sun-TimesChicago History Museum
2010s
Innovative landscaping and engineering brought Soldier Field back to its original purpose of being a “stadium in a park.” The stadium itself functions as a greenroof for 2,500 underground parking spaces–one of the first greenroof projects to utilize geofoam so extensively.
2020s
While today Soldier Field is synonymous with Da Bears, they only began calling the stadium home in 1971. Soldier Field was announced as “Chicago’s new playground” in 1924, and it has a century-long history of rallies, rock concerts, soccer, and ski jumps.
No matter the event, here’s to another century of play.
Special thanks to the following individuals who made this Google Arts & Culture exhibit possible:
Caroline Hugh
Peter T. Alter
Angela Hoover
Heidi Samuelson
Esther D. Wang
You can find thousands more images of Soldier Field in the Chicago History Museum's collection at CHM Images.
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