A look at downtown’s future — as seen 40 years ago

The 1983 Central Area Plan called for river edge townhomes east of Michigan Avenue. But they were never built. (Chicago Central Area Committee)

Imagine a full-fledged performing arts center occupying the southern tip of Grant Park, running along Roosevelt Road between Michigan and Columbus avenues.

And on a nice night, you might even walk there after spending the afternoon at Discovery Park, the former Meigs Field airport that was turned into green space not by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the bulldozers in 2003, but as a result of the World’s Fair of 1992.