Deri see ene eS TBIOINE OBI LIL Ea Del nN 13 
The Rally at “The Point” 
By IRENE MOSTEK 
ONE OF THE MOST significant conservation meeting's ever held in the Chicago 
area was sponsored by the 4th and 5th ward units of the Independent Voters 
of Illinois at the Jackson Park Promontory on June 25th, 1955. The meeting 
was designed to spotlight the deterioration of the Burnham Park and Jack- 
son Park areas and the failure of the Chicago Park District to meet the 
recreational needs of the public. Another issue discussed was the use of 
recreational areas for military installations. 
Almost 400 people gathered on the grass before the speaker’s stand to eat 
their picnic lunch and to hear Davy Crockett (in the person of University 
of Chicago Prof. Maynard Krueger) sing a doleful ballad about the in- 
creasing loss of park lands to the Army. It was pointed out that in the last 
15 years, Jackson Park has suffered the loss of a bird sanctuary, a Japanese 
Tea House, a Japanese Garden, two south bridges to Wooded Island (one 
of the most famous of bird sanctuaries within a large city), a small golf 
course, an ice-skating pond, and a row-boat concession. In addition, the 
lagoons are now becoming stagnant, because of fill under the broken bridges. 
Congressman Barratt O’Hara, an outspoken opponent of the use of recre- 
ational areas for military installations, spoke of the need by the Chicago 
Park District and the U.S. Army of better public relations. He condemned 
both agencies for the cavalier treatment they had accorded the general 
public. It was through the efforts of Mr. O’Hara that the NIKE launching 
area was reduced to a small section of the Promontory after the Army had 
demanded the whole “Point” area. For his efforts in saving Wooded Island 
as a sanctuary and his many other commendable conservation battles, Mr. 
O’Hara was honored with a lovely plaque by the Volunteer Forest Patrol. 
The presentation was made by Mr. Richard Burk, Chief of the Cook County 
Unit. 
In later speeches, Col. Thomas Larner, Commanding Officer of the 22nd 
AAA Group, and Chief Planning Engineer Raymond Knapp of the Chicago 
Park District defended the choice of the “Point” in Jackson Park for the in- 
stallation of the NIKE unit. 
The audience cheered as Rep. O’Hara remarked that under present policies 
of the Chicago Park District, the public stands to lose its parks, acre by 
acre. The occupation of a half-dozen areas by the Army along the lake 
front beaches and park areas, and the new proposed lake-front exposition 
hall, were cited as examples. 
Alderman Len Despres ended the meeting with these memorable remarks 
by the great Chicago planner, Daniel Burnham: “The lake front by right 
belongs to the people. It affords their one great unobstructed view, where 
water and clouds seem to meet. No mountains or high hills enable us to 
look over broad expanses of the earth’s surface; and we must come to the 
margin of the lake for such a survey of nature. .. .Not a foot of shore should 
be appropriated by individuals to the exclusion of the people. Everything 
possible should be done to enhance its attractiveness and to develop its 
