Chicago's mayor carved six Xs into a runway; 12 years later, the airfield became a 40-acre park

Chicago's Meigs Field airport was controversially closed overnight in 2003.

Six X-shaped gouges rendered the runway unusable, stranding sixteen aircraft.

The city cited security concerns following the September 11 attacks for the closure.

Twelve years later, the former airfield became a natural landscape.

This site now features prairie, wetlands, and wildlife habitat for migratory birds.