RAVINIA PARK

one of the oldest outdoor summer music and cultural centres in the United States, located in Highland Park, Ill., 25 miles (40 km) north of Chicago's Loop. It was established in 1905 on land purchased by the A.C. Frost Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad (the Chicago and North Western Railroad now bisects the property). Originally an amusement centre designed to stimulate railroad business, the 36-acre (15-hectare) park developed into a cultural institution devoted to fine arts. The original pavilion, destroyed by fire in 1949, was replaced in 1950 by a bowl-shaped structure seating 3,000 under a fan-shaped permanent roof floating on slender columns. The John D. Harza building houses practice and performance spaces and is open year round. The Martin Theatre is also on park grounds. Since 1936 Ravinia has been the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.