Dearborn Park was a gamble on the future of downtown Chicago.

Initially proposed in the Chicago 21 plan released in 1973 and anchored by the distinctive 1885 Dearborn Station that sits at the foot of Dearborn Street at Polk Street, the development took advantage of the abandoned railyards south of the old train station.

The land was mostly vacant — virtually a blank slate between State and Clark streets stretching from Polk to 15th Street. To the west was mostly more vacant land stretching to the river. To the east was a neighborhood of mostly well-wrought urban structures that had seen more prosperous times.

The master plan was prepared by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) whose planners chose to import a somewhat suburban model for this prime piece of cityscape immediately adjacent to the Loop. This unfortunate flavor of 20th century urban planning created what is essentially a gated community in the South Loop.

The initial elements went under construction in 1977, with the first residents moving in 1979 and Phase I mostly complete by 1985. For several decades, the neighborhood was a bright spot of development in the area.

The first phase spans from Polk at the north to Roosevelt Road at the south.

The second phase, dubbed Dearborn Park II, is south of Roosevelt Road and was completed in stages starting in 1989. A pedestrian path links the two phases under the elevated portion of Roosevelt Road that bisects the neighborhood with its imposing viaduct.

The primary pedestrian entrances are on Polk and follow the alignments of Plymouth Court and Federal Street to the north. The sole automobile entrance........

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