Speculation: World's Fair & a Chicago today

This thread is pure speculation. A real "what if". The heart of Chicago is strong and development has been rampant in all directions outward from the Loop. However, how good as it is, would it have been better if Chicago had actually gone ahead after it won the bid and held that World's Fair (1992, I believe) that was supposed to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage to the Americas. If you remember, that fair was pretty well killed off by the in-fighting of the Council War era. Now I am in no way talking about the financial (or even artistic) success of the fair. World's fairs were alreay a dying instiution at the time. No, what I'm talking about was the fair's ability to change the landscape. Massive plans wer in place for the area near the museum campus and many projects promised trmendous redevelopment opportunities for the Near South Side. These plans came before anyone knew the degree of the force of gentrication Chicago would experience without a world's fair. But imagine, if we had one, where would we hve been today: • would the city have been even healthier? • would the South Side lakefront parks have developed further than they have today due to the spill over effect? • would a blockbuster project like Millennium Park been built? • would the South Loop have developed differently (perhaps not as residentially)? • would the area around McCormick Place have been more lively today? • would holding the fair and the magnificent structures left behind have made Chicago more of a tourist magnet earlier....with the result of it being even stronger than it is today? What do you think would have happened if this fair actually took plalce?>