Magnificent Mile in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Nathan Hale

1755 - 1776

Photographed By Sean Flynn

1. Nathan Hale Marker

Inscription. Dedicated to the
Reserve Officers
of America

I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country

Erected 1940 by Colonel Robert R. McCormick.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 41° 53.435′ N, 87° 37.437′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Magnificent Mile. Memorial is on North Michigan Avenue south of East Illinois Street, on the right when traveling north. The statue faces the front entrance of the Tribune Tower on North Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60611, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Tribune Tower (a few steps from this marker); World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (within shouting distance of this marker); Catherine and Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable (within shouting distance of this marker); Jack Brickhouse (within

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shouting distance of this marker); McGraw-Hill Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Pioneers (about 500 feet away); The Discoverers (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The marker was commissioned in 1940 by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper and a distinguished officer in World War I who himself was a reserve officer, having joined the military as a member of the Illinois National Guard. After the war he was responsible for bringing Reserve Officers training to Chicago schools.

This statue to Hale was dedicated in June 1940. It originally stood in the entryway of the Tribune Tower, facing out towards Michigan Avenue. It was temporarily removed after the Tribune vacated the building in 2018 and the space was converted into residential units. After the renovation was completed around 2022, the statue was re-placed about 10 yards away in a new planter next to Michigan Avenue. Hale now faces towards the Tribune Tower instead of the street.

The statue is a replica of the Hale statue at Yale University, which was designed

Nathan Hale statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

2. Nathan Hale statue

The Nathan Hale statue, its rear to Michigan Avenue, in front of the Tribune Tower

by Bela Lyon Pratt and dedicated in 1914. Other replicas of the Pratt design, besides the one at the Tribune Tower, include one at Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven, Connecticut; one near Federal Hill Green in Bristol, Connecticut; and another in front of CIA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Bela Pratt’s Nathan Hale statue

Also see . . .
1. Chicago Public Art: Nathan Hale. (Submitted on November 26, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. The Long, Winding Road to Erecting the Nathan Hale Statue at Yale. Excerpt: “Pratt faced several issues too. First… there had never been an ‘existing portrait of Nathan Hale’ and… ‘the miniature once owned by his fiancée disappeared long ago.’ Instead, the artist ‘studied a portrait furnished him by the late Rev. Edward Everett Hale of one of his sons who died at about Hale’s age.’ He also wanted to ‘avoid giving the statue a grandiose character,’ saying that ‘students of today, as they pass back and forth, will feel that Hale is one of them — one of them in every way, but happily removed from the tumult of life, from loss and stain, and forever bright.’” (Submitted on November 26, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 52 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 26, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2. submitted on December 5, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.