Exhibitor guide · Streeterville, Chicago
Navy Pier: the exhibitor's guide
Festival Hall's 170,000 square feet on a pier built from 20,000 Oregon logs, nine million visitors a year walking past your booth, and a building that trained naval aviators before it hosted an art fair. How exhibiting on Chicago's lakefront pier actually works.
Navy Pier · 600 E Grand AveHero photo: "Festival Hall Navy Pier" by ahisgett, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr. Source
Why this page exists
Navy Pier is not a convention center that happens to be scenic. It is one of the most-visited attractions in the Midwest that happens to have a 170,000 sq ft exhibit hall inside it, which changes the math for exhibitors: your show gets foot traffic no other Chicago venue can offer, and your freight has to reach a building built on pilings a mile into Lake Michigan. Festival Hall has hosted the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, Expo Chicago's international art fair, and SOFA Chicago for decades, and the building itself trained 18,000 naval aviators during World War II.
This guide covers Festival Hall's two halls and how they combine, labor in a non-right-to-work state, drayage, a freight countdown built around pier access, the shows and fairs that use the building, hotels along the Magnificent Mile, and the history of a pier built from logs that became a Navy training center, a University of Illinois campus and finally Chicago's second most-visited attraction.
The building
Festival Hall
Festival Hall sits at the pier's base near the Grand Avenue entrance, separate from the pier's amusements and restaurants, with its own loading dock and meeting-room complex.
| Space | What it is | Typical shows | Booth planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall A | 113,000 sq ft, 60 ft ceilings, dividable or combined with Hall B. | Large trade and consumer shows, art fairs | Islands, hanging structures and forklifts routine at this ceiling height. |
| Hall B | 57,000 sq ft, the smaller of the two halls. | Mid-size shows, the second hall for combined events | Same 60 ft ceiling; often the overflow hall for citywide-adjacent shows. |
| 36 meeting rooms | Attached to Festival Hall for breakouts and conference tracks. | Association meetings, seminars | Hand-carry and tabletop formats. |
| Loading dock | An eight-truck dock serving Festival Hall directly. | All exhibit freight | Separate from the pier's public and amusement-area logistics. |
History
Logs, sailors and a university
Navy Pier has been a working dock, a WWII training base, a university campus and a family entertainment pier, roughly in that order, over just over a century.
Municipal Pier opens to the public on July 15, designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost based on Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. The pier is built atop 20,000 logs imported from Oregon and driven into the lakebed. It serves as a freighter and passenger-ship dock with indoor and outdoor recreation space, hosting expositions and pageants from the start.
The pier is renamed Navy Pier to honor World War I naval veterans.
During World War II, the pier becomes a Navy training center: about 10,000 people work, train and live there, with a 2,500-seat theater, gym, barber shop and hospital on-site. The training carriers USS Wolverine and USS Sable, converted lake steamers, qualify 18,000 naval aviators from the pier.
The University of Illinois holds classes at the pier to serve returning veterans on the GI Bill; demand outgrows the space and becomes part of the founding push for the University of Illinois at Chicago. After the university leaves, the pier sits underused for years.
The East End buildings are renovated starting in 1976; a $150 million redevelopment in the early 1990s builds Festival Hall and reopens the pier as the family entertainment and exhibition destination it is today.
Navy Pier draws more than nine million visitors a year, Chicago's second most-visited attraction, and Festival Hall hosts the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, Expo Chicago and SOFA Chicago alongside a rotating calendar of trade and consumer shows.
Rules of the floor
Labor, exclusives and rules
Union building, show contractor rules
Illinois has no right-to-work law; exhibit labor runs through the show's contractor. Self-install allowances follow the show kit; the show kit sets the exact allowance.
Below McCormick Place
Plan about $150 per hundredweight where a contractor handles freight, meaningfully under McCormick Place rates.
One road onto the pier
Grand Avenue is the only vehicle route to the pier; summer weekend crowds slow truck access. Purple ships early-week when possible.
Chicago Fire Department
Flame certificates for fabrics, covered booths by approval, permits for cooking and vehicles.
Venue services
Electrical, internet, cleaning and security through Navy Pier or its providers; the show kit carries the current list.
The pier's other nine million visitors
Festival Hall is separate from the amusements, but some shows sell public tickets and lean on pier walk-up traffic. Confirm whether your show is trade-only or public before planning booth security.
Certificates
Naming the organizer and Navy Pier Inc.; Purple's is on file.
Free tool
Navy Pier drayage estimator
Planning numbers for 2026; the show kit has the tariff. All-venue rates and a glossary on the drayage rates page.
Deadlines
Freight countdown for a Navy Pier show
The calendar
Shows and fairs at Navy Pier
Festival Hall's calendar mixes long-running Chicago institutions with trade and consumer shows. Confirm dates on the organizer's site.
| Event | When | Industry | Typical attendance | Purple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Flower and Garden Show | Spring | Horticulture and home | 40,000 | Custom exhibits |
| Expo Chicago | Spring | Modern and contemporary art | 30,000 | Custom environments |
| SOFA Chicago | Fall | Sculpture and functional art | 20,000 | 10×10 rentals |
| Consumer lifestyle and wedding shows | Winter, spring | Consumer | 15,000 | 10×10 rentals |
Attendance figures are Purple's planning ranges; confirm each event with the organizer.
Logistics
Getting there and staying
- By car: Grand Avenue is the only road onto the pier; extensive on-site and nearby parking, though it fills on weekends.
- By transit: the CTA Red Line to Grand, then a free trolley or a 15-minute walk. Water taxis run from the river and Michigan Avenue in season.
- Airports: O'Hare is about 30 to 45 minutes; Midway is about 25 to 35.
- Freight: the eight-truck dock at Festival Hall, accessed via Grand Avenue.
- Crew: Purple coordinates Midwest crews for Navy Pier shows.
| Hotel | Distance | Why exhibitors pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Streeterville and Magnificent Mile hotels | 10 to 15-min walk | Closest rooms, walkable to the pier entrance. |
| Hyatt Regency Chicago (downtown) | 25-min walk or short cab | Large blocks near the river. Venue guide. |
| River North hotels | 15-min drive | Nightlife and restaurants for staff and clients. |
Resources
Free resources you can link to
Cite the numbers
One-page cheat sheet
Halls, dock, pier access, deadlines.
Questions
Navy Pier FAQ
How big is Festival Hall?
More than 170,000 square feet across two halls: Hall A at 113,000 square feet and Hall B at 57,000, both with 60-foot ceilings.
Is labor union at Navy Pier?
Illinois has no right-to-work law, so exhibit labor runs through the show's contractor.
How do I get freight onto the pier?
Grand Avenue is the only vehicle route; Festival Hall has its own eight-truck dock separate from the pier's public and amusement logistics.
Is Navy Pier a public attraction during my show?
Yes, always. The pier draws over nine million visitors a year; some trade shows sell public tickets and lean on that traffic, others stay trade-only. Confirm which applies to your show.
How much is drayage?
Plan about $150 per hundredweight where a contractor handles freight, below McCormick Place rates.
What did the pier train during World War II?
It served as a Navy training center for about five years, qualifying 18,000 naval aviators on two converted lake steamers, the USS Wolverine and USS Sable.
How do I get there without a car?
The CTA Red Line to Grand Avenue, then a free trolley or a 15-minute walk; water taxis run from the river in season.
Where does Purple ship from?
Purple coordinates Midwest crews and regional freight for Navy Pier shows.
Exhibiting at Navy Pier?
Send us the show and booth number. You get a design brief, a drayage estimate and a build timeline within two business days.
Venue guides
Every venue we have a guide for
Same standard, every hall: the building, the rules, the tools and the calendar.