I'm Erin Allen. This is Curious City. And today our producer, Justin Bull, is in downtown Chicago with our question asker, Jeanette Say.

Hi, Jeanette. I'm Justin. How's it going?

They're at the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame, which is a row of eight bronze heads of famous Chicago businessmen.

Oh, great.

They're standing in front of one that depicts Aaron Montgomery Ward.

How would you describe this monument here?

I would describe it as a Pezhead because that's what it looks like to me.

Now you might be familiar with Ward.

He's the catalog guy who revolutionized the idea of mail order shopping 150 years ago.

It wasn't until after Ward's death that his company turned into the department store, you might remember, as well.

Things are changing at Montgomery Ward.

You would expect this bust of Ward in front of merchandise mart,

but his real claim of vein, according to Jeanette, is Grant Park.

Well, of course, everybody knows him as a retailer,

and what I don't think most people know is that he spent 20 years

to preserve the lakefront for everybody to enjoy.

She's right.

If not for Ward, the Grant Park, you know well, would look very different,

because it would have a lot more buildings in it.

Jeanette thinks that more people should know about that.

I just think it's kind of an injustice,

and he kind of hinted that he wasn't going to be appreciated for it.

...