Saving Lake Shore Drive, honoring DuSable
Let’s just be direct to the members of the Chicago City Council who are considering changing the name of iconic Lake Shore Drive to DuSable Drive: It would be a mistake.
While the momentum behind the proposal is laudable — sponsors want to honor Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s recognized founder — there are better ways to highlight his historic role, educate the public about his imprint on Chicago and still maintain the unique roadway known as “the drive.”
Would New York City rename the Empire State Building? Would San Francisco redesignate the Golden Gate Bridge? Would New Orleans rename Bourbon Street? Chicago aldermen should protect Lake Shore Drive, not excise its historical nobility, neither in title nor stature.
As Tribune journalist Ron Grossman wrote in a 2013 ode to Lake Shore Drive, which we’re republishing in the print edition:
“Both a boulevard and one of the nation’s first superhighways, Lake Shore Drive arguably showcases Chicago like no other street does for any other city. From Hollywood Avenue to the Chicago Skyway, the drive offers an incomparable view of the beauty of nature and the power of man. With barely a turn of the head, motorists can behold the skyscrapers that put Chicago’s stamp on modern architecture and a shoreline virtually unspoiled by industry.”
DuSable is recognized throughout the city. His name graces a high school, a park, a harbor and the DuSable Museum of African American History. A bronze bust of him stands at the site of his original settlement. The city has officially recognized him as its founder.
Conversations have been well underway to further honor DuSable. We suggested renaming Millennium Park. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has offered up the Chicago Riverwalk.
And even if neither happened, supporters of the movement already have accomplished what they said was the goal: to educate the city and its residents about DuSable, the first non-native person to settle here, who built a trading post on the Chicago River right about where Michigan Avenue now crosses it.
The sponsor of the ordinance to rename Lake Shore Drive, Ald. David Moore, 17th, says the options suggested to recognize DuSable in other ways are nice, but not the same:
“I could count the number of times on one hand I’ve been to the Riverwalk,” he told WTTW-Ch. 11. “Probably some of the residents of my community can count ’em on no hands ... what this does, it connects the South and the North Side (and) more than anything, it’s that educational piece” that renaming Lake Shore Drive would accomplish.
But unlike most street names, Lake Shore Drive actually describes the motorway by evoking the vast body of water that gives Chicago its unique identity. Any road in Chicago could be named for a person of historical significance. But only one could be named Lake Shore Drive.
Here’s what readers have to say:
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable has several eponymous places in Chicago: a museum, park, school, harbor and bridge. However, some groups want to rename Lake Shore Drive after him to show him respect.
Having all of those places named after DuSable is no respect? The city is broke. Is the best use of our scarce resources to pay for new road signs?
For neighborhoods where they want to defund the police and come up with more social services, does this make sense? If we have money to change street signs, why not use it for enhanced social services instead?
— Craig Baskin, Chicago
Renaming Lake Shore Drive is shortsighted. “LSD” has a worldwide reputation, not named for any
one person. It is a Chicago icon. It is a federal highway. It is bigger than any one ethnic group, person or race. It would cost unnecessary tax dollars in signage, and confuse tourists and drivers.
If the Chicago City Council wastes its time and tax dollars in making such an improvident move, I trust Mayor Lori Lightfoot will veto it.
— Joe Vosicky, Elmhurst
I don’t get it. Why would the city of Chicago rename Lake Shore Drive after anyone? This has nothing to do with race. It is just nonsense.
A small percentage of people may support this crazy idea, but I can tell you the general public would be overwhelmingly against this. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable is an important part of Chicago history — let’s recognize him through Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal.
— Dennis O’Malley, Glenview
I think it’s a great idea to have a prominent thoroughfare in Chicago named after Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, but not Lake Shore Drive! Two roads in the city that are internationally known are State Street and Lake Shore Drive. They are both celebrated in songs, stories and legend.
Any other street or road, please. — Joyce Porter, Oak Park
If Jean Baptiste Point DuSable were alive, I think he would be amused by the controversy about renaming a major street for him. He would wonder why this supposed world-class city that he helped found is so broke. He would wonder why, over 200 years later, nonwhite people living in this segregated city are at greater risk of violence, bad health and lower achievement.
He would wonder why the naming of a major thoroughfare in this underachieving city is not auctioned off to the highest bidder and the proceeds directed at improving incomes, safety and educational achievement in West and South Side neighborhoods, and to improving human relations throughout the city and its suburbs.
Let there be a Ronald McDonald Drive or a Boeing 747 Drive or a Xfinity Lake Road, and let that fund a DuSable Initiative at improving human development in Chicago.
— Steve Balkin, Chicago
I am a bit stymied on what to think about renaming Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. On the one hand, it is an opportunity to recognize the important Black contribution to Chicago’s history.
On the other hand, do we really want to celebrate in such a big way the first person to begin the invasion, displacement and killing of the First Nations people already living here? Whether or not DuSable personally hurt anyone, he started a migration and is a symbol of all the losses that followed.
Is this too “woke”? I am wondering if any local Native American organizations have been asked to weigh in on this.
— Heidrun Hoppe, Evanston
Ald. David Moore, in introducing racism as the underlying issue, does a disservice to a legitimate debate about the renaming of a portion of Lake Shore Drive to honor Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Out of respect, a museum, harbor, park, school and bridge have been named for DuSable.
But should we not consider the historical value of the name “Lake Shore Drive” as an apt description of Chicago’s beauty, attracting visitors from afar?
— Mal Poland, Chicago