Chicago has a history of erecting temporary buildings along its lakefront. From the Exhibitions of the 1800's to the concert venues of today, architecture and the shoreline have had a sometimes tenuous relationship. The latest itinerant resident of the Lake Michigan shoreline is the Charter One Pavilion. This concert venue is erected at the southern end of Northerly Island. From 1948 to 2003 the island was home to the Meigs Field airport, made famous by the SubLogic (now Microsoft) Flight Simulator games. In the middle of the night, without any public notice, Mayor Daley ordered bulldozers to demolish the runway, setting the city of for a federal investigation and fines. This was only the beginning of the controversy. The Mayor claimed he closed the airport for security reasons and wanted to turn the area into a nature preserve and park. Not too long after, plans were announced for concerts and a concert venue on the island, touching off more controversy.

It is for these reasons that the concert venue at Northerly Island is a temporary structure. At the end of each season it is disassembled and stored for the winter, returning the artificial island to its natural state. This is particularly important in the Spring and Autumn because since the island was built, it has become a popular rest area for migratory birds.

Like it, or hate it, building a temporary concert venue that handles 8,000 people is quite a feat. Even the welcome sign is temporary. The only permanent parts are the pavement, lights, and electrical junctions.