Montgomery Ward Bust (in Grant Park)

Aaron Montgomery Ward (1844-1913) founded the world’s first mail-order business and what was once the nation’s largest department store chain. In the 1890s, he began a twenty-year legal battle to keep Grant Park "open, free, and clear."   Ward withstood intense public criticism for his campaign to prevent the construction of the Field Museum and other buildings in the center of Chicago's "front yard"  Ward's finally achieved victory through his fourth lawsuit in the State Supreme Court  in 1911. This bust honors of Ward’s achievement, which though once controversail, is well recognized today. This is a scaled-down version of a larger bust that was added to  the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame of important Chicago businessmen in 1972. Montgomery Ward’s corporate office donated the sculpture in 1993, and grants from the Montgomery Ward Foundation and the Friends of the Parks allowed for its installation in Grant Park. Russian- American sculptor Milton Horn (1906-1995) created the bust, which was removed to make way for Millennium Park in 1999, rededicated at its new location on the southwest side of Grant Park in 2005. Its accompanying plaque reads, in part, “Grant Park is his legacy to the city he loved… his gift to the future.”