DOWNTOWN — The prominent statue of Jean Baptise DuSable in Pioneer Court will be temporarily moved across the street to accommodate for the construction of a new Apple Store, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) announced in a Friday newsletter.
Reilly was "displeased" to learn that the bronze bust of the city's founder will be moved from its home next to the DuSable Bridge (formerly called the Michigan Avenue Bridge), where it has stood since its 2009 dedication. The bust will be relocated across the street, Reilly said, but it will return upon the store's completion in May 2017.
In his newsletter, the alderman blamed the move on a "City Hall bureaucrat who did not properly notice this move [and] has since been advised of the importance of DuSable and the insensitivity of his action."
The Apple Store, slated to be built at 401 N. Michigan Ave., is still in its planning stages. Apple could not be immediately reached for comment Friday night.
DuSable is known for establishing the first non-native settlement in the Chicago area in 1773, which eventually was incorporated as the town of Chicago in 1833.
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