Petrillo Music Shell
| Grant Park Band Shell | |
Petrillo lawn with the band shell in the upper right and Buckingham Fountain at the top in the background
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 Petrillo Music Shell
Location within central Chicago
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| Address | 235 S. Columbus Drive Chicago, Illinois  United States
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| Coordinates | 41°52′44″N 87°37′12″W / 41.8788°N 87.6200°W |
| Owner | City of Chicago |
| Current use | Performing arts |
| Construction | |
| Opened | August 24, 1931 |
| Rebuilt | 1978 |
| Architect | E.V. Buchsbaum of the South Parks Commission (1931 structure) Chicago Park District staff (1978 structure) |
James C. Petrillo Music Shell or simply Petrillo Music Shell or Petrillo Bandshell as it is more commonly known, is an outdoor amphitheater/bandstand in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It serves as host to many large annual music festivals in the city such as Chicago Blues Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza. It is also the former host of several smaller (less than 10,000) attendance annual events that have moved to the newer Jay Pritzker Pavilion such as the Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago Gospel Music Festival, and Chicago Latin Music Festival.
The name has been applied to two different structures: one that stood facing Hutchinson Field, near the south end of Grant Park, from 1931 to 1975; and a replacement structure facing Butler Field at Monroe and Columbus that opened in 1978.
The original bandshell was commissioned in 1931 by Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak during the Great Depression to help lift the spirits of the citizenry with free concerts. In 1975, the music shell was named to honor James C. Petrillo, president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians from 1922 to 1962 and president of the American Federation of Musicians from 1940 to 1958, who created a free concert series in Grant Park in 1935. Petrillo was a commissioner of the Chicago Park District from 1934 to 1945.
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Wikipedia