Chicago Wants to Build the Country’s First Great Urban Gondola

Forget boat tours. This is the Windy City in bird’s eye.

May 9, 2016 9:00 am

If a recent proposal gets approved, Chicago could be getting a tourist magnet that’ll rival the Willis Tower’s skydeck, Lou Malnati’s deep-dish pies and Jake Arrieta’s right arm.

In order move the city from “old guard to vanguard,” a pair of businessmen have suggested installing an aerial cable car system called the Chicago SkyLine that would connect some of the city’s biggest attractions, including the Navy Pier, Millennium Park and the Riverwalk.

Chicago SkyLine 1:28

Designed by Marks Barfield Architects (the design team that came up with the London Eye on the South Bank of the Thames) and Davis Brody Bond Architects  (the firm that worked on September 11 Memorial Museum), the year-round system would operate 17 stories above the ground and be able to handle 3,000 guests per hour.

The concept has an anticipated price tag of $250 million and the developers hope to fund it with contributions from businesses and private investors after getting input from the public.

“If the will of the people is there, this project flies literally,” Raizin says “We need to think iconic. We need to be bold.”

And we need to find out where they’re gonna sell tickets.

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