This Week in Chi History: U of I Navy Pier

Any other Illini surprised to learn the college once had a Navy Pier campus? 

On Oct. 21, 1946, the university opened a city location for all the World War II veterans taking advantage of the GI Bill.

The two-year commuter campus, called the “Harvard on the Rocks," wasn’t exactly comfortable for students who complained of the distracting noises and smells of the pier’s working dock, the Tribune reported.

But that didn’t stop demand: The Navy Pier location quickly reached its capacity of 5,500 students, according to WTTW.

More than 100,000 students, including former Gov. James R. Thompson, attended the Navy Pier college during its almost 20 years in operation, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. (Author and Logan Square native Shel Silverstein lied about attending the campus.)

 In 1965, the campus relocated and expanded to the Near West Side, sparking displacement and gentrification in the area.