Northerly Island
By August 2003, construction crews had finished the demolition of Meigs Field. Northerly Island is now a park that features prairie grasses and strolling paths. In 2005, the 7,500 seat Charter One Pavilion opened on the site, which hosts music concerts in the summer. The island also has a modest beach, named 12th Street Beach.
Other Chicagoans had a different vision for the lakefront area. After the 2003 closure, the Friends of Meigs Field introduced a new plan, "Parks and Planes", which promoted the idea of an aviation museum, small operating runway, and park land on the property. This plan suggested that Chicago could qualify for federal funds earmarked for airport property acquisition, to purchase many more acres of parkland in Chicago's neighborhoods and to improve the Chicago Park District's maintenance budget.
The FAA maintains a Remote Communications Outlet on the property, for two-way radio communications between the Kankakee Flight Service Station and nearby aircraft.
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