Since reopening in the 1990's, the revitalized Navy Pier has emerged as one of Chicago's premier recreational tourist attractions. On the surface, Navy Pier is basically one big, brash tourist mecca for shops, fast food, and general goofing-around. However, one must look past the gaudy and glossy surfaces to experience a Chicago destination that has had a varied history and a bright future.

Navy Pier was originally conceived as part of the famous Burnham Plan of 1909 for Chicago. Navy Pier opened in 1916 with ship docking facilities as well as public entertainment facilities. Since then, its 3000-foot length has been utilized as a military training base, a Chicago campus for the University of Illinois, as well a location for trade shows, festivals and concerts.

The new Navy Pier was designed and shaped by VOA Associates and Benjamin Thompson Associates. The walk through Navy Pier can get quite crowded, whether inside or out. Since the pier juts into Lake Michigan, you are surrounded by some spectacular views. Take a look around while you are dodging rollerbladers, kids with ice cream cones, and brisk lake winds.

Navy Pier now has diverse attractions like the Chicago Children's Museum, IMAX Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. The Skyline Stage is the site for summertime concerts, and the Festival Hall on the east end hosts a variety of public events and receptions. Kids and lovestruck couple will enjoy a slow ride on the large Ferris Wheel. You can still get dressed up before boarding a boat for a nice dinner cruise. Fireworks displays light up the summer nights, but not every summer night so check the schedule.

Besides the so-so food court, there are restaurants like Bubba Gump's, Riva, Charlie's Ale House, Joe's Be-Bop and a spinoff of the famous Billy Goat Tavern. Navy Pier actually has its own parking garage, but it is hard to imagine driving in this congestion. It is a healthy walk from downtown, and just walking through the pier is a long stroll as well. It is not a quiet place to be, but try and enjoy the fun along with the masses.

The Navy Pier, at one time, was not this exciting. It changed the face of downtown Chicago for the better. It’s quite a complex, in every sense of the word, and just as much as it can be a great family outing locale, it’s also a very romantic spot to watch the sunset over the lake and Riva’s Café offers a great view and fantastic food. As I have been there more than once, I am going to try to draw a composite of my experiences for you.

Chicagoans are blessed with a magnificent waterfront which happens to be Lake Michigan; alongside of that strip of blue are many things, including the Navy Pier, luxury waterfront properties, Chicago also shows off some of its magnificent architecture if you happen to be on Lake Michigan, cruising. You can say that this city was built from the ground up, as it was victim to the Great Fire of 1871; giving birth to the nation’s first skyscrapers. Grant Park also lies on Lake Michigan and boasts a wonderful fountain.

If you can think of this place as indoors versus outdoors, then we can count the ways you can have fun even if the wind is blowing you away. Outdoors is Gateway Park where a fountain greets you and actually encourages you to play in the water! There is also the musical carousel, the giant ferris wheel, the Skyline Stage which was added in 1993, and believe it or not, when it’s cool outside, a heating system provides warmth to the floors in the seating areas of this entertainment center.

. Inside, things have changed and have been added gradually including an 18-hole miniature gold course! No kidding. There are museums, ballrooms, exhibition halls which can accommodate large conventions, If you like stained glass, the Smith Museum of Stained Glass will blow your mind. The Pier is also host later this year to the world’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibit, Navy Pier Walk 2003. If you want to read up on this, or are planning a trip to the windy city in October, go to this website for more info.

There is an outstanding map of Navy Pier right here . Print it out, and go! Aside from the restaurants indoors/outdoors, there is great shopping to be done in here and you have a choice of stores or vendor carts. If you need a greater dose than the Fourth of July fireworks, you can see them twice weekly at the Pier from May to August. Not only does Navy Pier attract top entertainment names like Norman Brown and Aimee Mann, but it also serves as the venue for several important business fairs including " Women in Business" and the "Chicago Toy Show".

Chicago’s Navy Pier has become part of this city’s signature, much in the way of the Sears Tower and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Chicago's Navy Pier is a cluster of smaller attractions. Featuring an ice skating rink in winter, indoor mini-golf, an IMAX, and several amuseument park rides, along with a good shopping arena and food court, Navy Pier can keep everyone happy for a few hours.

Even though Navy Pier is located in the heart of downtown, prices are reasonable. The ferris wheel costs only $4 for adults. Ice skating is free all winter! (rental costs extra).

In the summer, several boat tours use Navy Pier as a departure point. Don't miss Navy Pier on your next visit to Chicago!

Here's their website.

The lake breezes are cold, but if you're going to experience crowds, weather makes a difference. This is very enjoyable because we didn't feel rushed. We did exactly what we wanted with a neat vista of the lake in background stopping occasionally to drink hot cocoa to warm up.

Up for a real bird’s eye view of the Windy City? Visit Navy Pier and ride the 15-story Ferris wheel, for an incomparable view of the city’s skyline. The wheel’s 40 gondolas accommodate 6 passengers each, and it is open year-round, weather permitting. The Ferris wheel rotates so slowly you hardly feel it moving, and then all of a sudden, you’re at the top and seeing the city in a totally new way.

The Pier also has a delightful hand-painted musical carousel the littlest visitors are sure to love. Adults and kids can be transported back in time over 100 years in the Time Escape Virtual Reality 3D Thrill Ride. For fireworks lovers, Navy Pier offers two shows weekly: Wednesday evenings at 9:30 and Saturday evenings at 10:15. These shows are free, and feature fabulous pyrotechnic displays set to music.

For a more leisurely day at the Pier, visitors can shop for souvenirs, sports attire, and much more at Barbara’s Bookstore, Sunglass Hut, and Magic Masters, just to name a few. Throughout the Pier, you’ll also find a number of unique vendor carts. If all the activity is making you hungry, you can get anything from a snack to a meal at the Food Court, Billy Goat’s Tavern and Grill, Bubba Gumps, and, of course, McDonald’s.

Not surprisingly, Navy Pier offers a variety of boat rides. Seadogs offer 30-minute lakefront speedboat rides as well as architectural riverboat rides. The 30-minute tour travels south to the Shedd Aquarium and north to North Avenue Beach with a number of daily departures. The architectural tour cruises down the Chicago River to the Sears Tower and back to Navy Pier for a unique perspective of Chicago’s famous skyline.

It should be noted that a family visit to the Pier won't come cheap. The Ferris Wheel is $4 per adult, the boat cruises vary in price from about $15-30 per person, so plan accordingly. For more to see and do, check out Navy Pier’s website.