As part of its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, the city of Chicago has proposed a slight change to the layout of its Olympic stadia. The only problem is that the newly proposed site for the aquatics center is listed on the National Register.
"Chicago's Olympic organizers announced significant changes Friday in their bid to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics, most notably a shift of the aquatics center from Douglas Park on the West Side to the South Side's Washington Park, already the proposed site of the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium."
"On its face, the plan makes perfect sense. It would put the two star attractions of the Games-the swimming and diving venue and the main stadium, host to track and field events-side by side. That was the setup last summer in Beijing, where the iconic designs of the main stadium, called the "Bird's Nest," and the aquatics center, known as the "Water Cube," dazzled the world."
"Yet, voices of dissent arose immediately Friday, particularly because Washington Park was designed in 1871 by the renowned American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."
FULL STORY: Chicago Olympic venue switcheroo: Right for the city's bid, but right for its historic parks?
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