The idea of placing large sculptures at the park entrance originated from famed urban planner Daniel Burnham's 1909 "Plan of Chicago". Burnham, a man of vision and charisma, was a strong influence on how the lakefront appears today. He imagined a vast parkland stretching from Michigan Avenue to the lakeshore filled with beautiful gardens, walkways, and public works of art. Burnham himself, however, planned for the two statues to be of “one Indian and one ‘Buffalo Bill like’ depiction of the conquering white pioneers" to symbolize both America's Indian heritage and its struggle for expansion.