Millennium Park (Chicago)
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Millennium Park is a
public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...
located in the Loop community area of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent
civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...
near the city's
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. Featuring a variety of
public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
, outdoor spaces and venues, the park is bounded by Michigan Avenue,
Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...
, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive. In 2017, Millennium Park was the top tourist destination in Chicago and in the Midwest, and placed among the top ten in the United States with 25 million annual visitors. Planning of the park, situated in an area occupied by parkland, the
Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...
rail yards, and parking lots, began in October 1997. Construction began in October 1998, and Millennium Park opened in a ceremony on July 16, 2004, four years behind schedule. The three-day opening celebrations were attended by some 300,000 people and included an inaugural concert by the
Grant Park Orchestra The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra or simply the Grant Park Orchestra is a publicly sponsored symphony orchestra that provides free performances in the Grant Park Music Festival during the summer months in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. Its ...
and Chorus. The park has received awards for its accessibility and green design. Millennium Park has free admission, and features the
Jay Pritzker Pavilion Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...
, ''
Cloud Gate ''Cloud Gate'' is a public art, public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, t ...
'', the ''
Crown Fountain ''Crown Fountain'' (sometimes known as the "Squirting Faces") is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community ar ...
'', the
Lurie Garden Lurie Garden is a garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by GGN (landscape architecture firm), GGN (Kathryn Gu ...
, and various other attractions. The park is connected by the
BP Pedestrian Bridge The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Maggie Daley Park (formerly, Daley Bicentennial Plaza) with Millennium Park, both ...
and the
Nichols Bridgeway The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Art Institute of Chicago Bui ...
to other parts of Grant Park. Because the park sits atop parking garages, the commuter rail
Millennium Station Millennium Station, (previously known as Randolph Street Terminal and occasionally referred to as Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a commuter rail terminal located in the Chicago Loop, Loop area of Chicago, do ...
and rail lines, it is considered the world's largest
rooftop garden A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational oppo ...
. In 2015, the park became the location of the city's annual
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
lighting. Some observers consider Millennium Park the city's most important project since the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
of 1893. It far exceeded its originally proposed budget of $150 million. The final cost of $475 million was borne by Chicago taxpayers and private donors. The city paid $270 million; private donors paid the rest, and assumed roughly half of the financial responsibility for the
cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
s. The construction delays and cost overruns were attributed to poor planning, many design changes, and
cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...
. Nonetheless, architectural and urban planning critics have praised the completed park.


Background

From 1852 until 1997, the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
owned a right of way between downtown Chicago and
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
, in the area that became Grant Park and used it for railroad tracks. In 1871,
Union Base-Ball Grounds Union Base-Ball Grounds was a baseball park located in Chicago. The park was "very visibly downtown", its small block bounded on the west by Michigan Avenue, on the north by Randolph Street, and on the east by railroad tracks and the lake shor ...
was built on part of the site that became Millennium Park; the Chicago White Stockings played home games there until the grounds were destroyed in the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...
. Lake Front Park, the White Stockings' new ball grounds, was built in 1878 with a short
right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...
due to the railroad tracks. The grounds were improved and the seating capacity was doubled in 1883, but the team had to move after the season ended the next year, as the federal government had given the city the land "with the stipulation that no commercial venture could use it".
Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...
planned Grant Park around the Illinois Central Railroad property in his 1909 Plan of Chicago. Between 1917 and 1953, a prominent semicircle of paired Greek Doric-style columns (called a
peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...
) was placed in this area of Grant Park ( partially recreated in the new Millennium Park). In 1997, when the city gained airspace rights over the tracks, it decided to build a parking facility over them in the northwestern corner of Grant Park. Eventually, the city realized that a grand civic amenity might lure private dollars in a way that a municipal improvement such as ordinary parking structure would not, and thus began the effort to create Millennium Park. The park was originally planned under the name Lakefront Millennium Park. The park was conceived as a landscape-covered bridge over an underground parking structure to be built on top of the
Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...
/Illinois Central Railroad tracks in Grant Park. The parks overall design was by
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...
, and gradually additional architects and artists such as
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...
and Thomas Beeby were incorporated into the plan. Sponsors were sought by invitation only. In February 1999, the city announced it was negotiating with Frank Gehry to design a
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
arch and orchestra enclosure for a bandshell, as well as a pedestrian bridge crossing Columbus Drive, and that it was seeking donors to cover his work. At the time, the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' dubbed Gehry "the hottest architect in the universe" in reference to the acclaim for his
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish a ...
, and they noted the designs would not include Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...
's trademarks, such as
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
and seasonal flower boxes. Millennium Park project manager Edward Uhlir said "Frank is just the cutting edge of the next century of architecture," and noted that no other architect was being sought. Gehry was approached several times by Skidmore architect
Adrian Smith Adrian Smith may refer to: * Adrian Smith (basketball) (born 1936), American basketball player *Adrian Smith (architect) (born 1944), American architect *Sir Adrian Smith (statistician) (born 1946), English statistician and academic *Adrian Smith (m ...
on behalf of the city. His hesitance and refusal to accept the commission was overcome by Cindy Pritzker, the philanthropist, who had developed a relationship with the architect when he won the
Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...
in 1989. According to John H. Bryan, who led fund-raising for the park, Pritzker enticed Gehry in face-to-face discussions, using a $15 million funding commitment toward the bandshell's creation. Having Gehry get involved helped the city realize its vision of having modern themes in the park; upon rumors of his involvement the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' proclaimed "Perhaps the future has arrived", while the ''Chicago Tribune'' noted that "The most celebrated architect in the world may soon have a chance to bring Chicago into the 21st Century". Plans for the park were officially announced in March 1998 and construction began in September of that year. Initial construction was under the auspices of the
Chicago Department of Transportation The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT ) is an executive department of the City of Chicago responsible for the safety, environmental sustainability, maintenance, and aesthetics of the surface transportation networks and public ways withi ...
, because the project bridges the railroad tracks. However, as the project grew and expanded, its broad variety of features and amenities outside the scope of the field of transportation placed it under the jurisdiction of the city's Public Buildings Commission. In April 1999, the city announced that the
Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in various business enterprises and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since th ...
had donated $15 million to fund Gehry's bandshell and an additional nine donors committed $10 million. The day of this announcement, Gehry agreed to the design request. In November, when his design was unveiled, Gehry said the bridge design was preliminary and not well-conceived because funding for it was not committed. The need to fund a bridge to span the eight-lane Columbus Drive was evident, but some planning for the park was delayed in anticipation of details on the redesign of
Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...
. In January 2000, the city announced plans to expand the park to include features that became ''Cloud Gate'', the ''Crown Fountain'', the McDonald's Cycle Center, and the BP Pedestrian Bridge. Later that month, Gehry unveiled his new winding design for the bridge. Mayor Daley's influence was key in getting corporate and individual sponsors to pay for much of the park. Bryan, the former
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
(CEO) of
Sara Lee Corporation The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. The Sara Lee name was used of a number of frozen and packaged foods, often known for the long-running slogan "Everybody doesn't like something, b ...
who spearheaded the fundraising, says that sponsorship was by invitation and no one refused the opportunity to be a sponsor. One ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine writer describes the park as the crowning achievement for Mayor Daley, while another suggests the park's cost and time overages were examples of the city's mismanagement. The July 16–18, 2004, opening ceremony was sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The community around Millennium Park has become one of the most fashionable and desired residential addresses in Chicago. In 2006, Forbes named the park's 60602 zip code as the hottest in terms of price appreciation in the country, with upscale buildings such as
The Heritage at Millennium Park The Heritage at Millennium Park, located at 130 N. Garland Court in Chicago, Illinois is a mixed-use tower. Completed in 2005, with a height of and 57 floors, the building was designed by the architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz (archite ...
(130 N. Garland) leading the way for other buildings, such as Waterview Tower,
The Legacy The Legacy may refer to: Film * ''The Legacy'' (1978 film), a horror film directed by Richard Marquand * ''The Legacy'' (2009 film), a drama film from Canada directed by Bernard Émond Literature * ''The Legacy'', an unpublished c. 1948 novel ...
and Joffrey Tower. The median sale price for residential real estate was $710,000 in 2005 according to Forbes, also ranking it on the list of most expensive zip codes. The park has been credited with increasing residential real estate values by $100 per square foot ($1,076 per m2).


Features

Millennium Park is a portion of the Grant Park, known as the "front lawn" of downtown Chicago, and has four major artistic highlights: the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, ''Cloud Gate'', the ''Crown Fountain'', and the Lurie Garden. Millennium Park is successful as a public art venue in part due to the grand scale of each piece and the open spaces for display. A showcase for
postmodern architecture Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the International Style (architecture), international style adv ...
, it also features the McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink, the
BP Pedestrian Bridge The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Maggie Daley Park (formerly, Daley Bicentennial Plaza) with Millennium Park, both ...
, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance,
Wrigley Square Wrigley Square is a public square located in the northwest section of Millennium Park in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illi ...
, the McDonald's Cycle Center, the Exelon Pavilions, the AT&T Plaza, the
Boeing Galleries Boeing Galleries (North Boeing Gallery and South Boeing Gallery) are a pair of outdoor exhibition spaces within Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. ...
, the
Chase Promenade Chase Promenade (formerly Bank One Promenade) is an open-air, tree-lined, pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The pro ...
, and the
Nichols Bridgeway The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Art Institute of Chicago Bui ...
. Millennium Park is considered one of the largest
green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
s in the world, having been constructed on top of a railroad yard and large parking garages. The park, which is known for being user friendly, has a very rigorous cleaning schedule with many areas being swept, wiped down or cleaned multiple times a day. Although the park was unveiled in July 2004, some features opened earlier, and upgrades continued for some time afterwards. Along with the cultural features above ground (described below) the park has its own 2218-space parking garage.


Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The centerpiece of Millennium Park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a
bandshell In theatre, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...
designed by Frank Gehry. The pavilion has 4,000 fixed seats, plus additional lawn seating for 7,000; the stage is framed by curving plates of stainless steel, characteristic of Gehry. It was named after
Jay Pritzker Jay Arthur Pritzker (August 26, 1922 – January 23, 1999) was an American businessman and member of the Pritzker family. He was a founder of the Hyatt Corporation, having purchased the first Hyatt Hotel in 1957, and was responsible for ...
, whose family is known for owning
Hyatt Hotels Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...
and was a major donor. The Pritzker Pavilion is Grant Park's outdoor performing arts venue for small events, and complements
Petrillo Music Shell The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the James C. Petrillo Music Shell) is an outdoor amphitheater in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United State ...
, the park's older and larger bandshell. The pavilion is built partially atop the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the park's indoor performing arts venue, with which it shares a loading dock and backstage facilities. The pavilion is seen as a major upgrade from the Petrillo Music Shell for those events it hosts. Initially, the pavilion's lawn seats were free for all concerts, but this changed when
Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
performed the first rock concert there on August 31, 2005. The Pritzker Pavilion is the home of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the
Grant Park Music Festival The Grant Park Music Festival (formerly the Grant Park Concerts) is a ten-week classical music concert series held annually in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It features the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Chorus along with gues ...
, the nation's only remaining free, municipally supported, outdoor, classical music series. The Festival is presented by the
Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...
and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The Pavilion hosts a wide range of other music series and annual performing arts events. Performers ranging from mainstream rock bands to classical musicians and opera singers have appeared at the pavilion, which also hosts physical fitness activities such as yoga. All rehearsals at the pavilion are open to the public; trained guides are available for the music festival rehearsals, which are well-attended. The construction of the pavilion created a legal controversy, given that there are historic limitations on buildings in Grant Park. To avoid these legal restrictions, the city classifies the bandshell as a work of art rather than a building. With several design and assembly problems, the construction plans were revised over time, with features eliminated and others added as successful fundraising allowed the budget to grow. In the end, the performance venue was designed with a large fixed seating area, a Great Lawn, a trellis network to support the sound system, and a headdress fashioned from signature Gehry stainless steel. It features a sound system with an acoustic design that replicates an indoor concert hall sound experience. The pavilion and Millennium Park have received favorable recognition by critics, especially for their accessibility; an accessibility award ceremony held at the pavilion in 2005 described it as "one of the most accessible parks—not just in the United States but possibly the world".


Grainger Plaza and Cloud Gate

The Grainger Plaza (formerly AT&T Plaza) is a public space that hosts the ''
Cloud Gate ''Cloud Gate'' is a public art, public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, t ...
'' sculpture. The plaza opened in July 2004 with the unveiling of the sculpture during the grand opening weekend of the park.
Ameritech AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and, before that, American Information Technologies Corporation), was an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the ...
donated $3 million for the naming right for the plaza, but it was SBC Plaza when the park opened, as a merger had changed the company name to
SBC Communications AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the ...
. The 2005 merger of SBC and
AT&T Corporation AT&T Corporation, an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to busi ...
led to the name AT&T Plaza. In 2021, the Grainger Foundation established a $5 million endowment to support the ongoing enhancement of the plaza (now called Grainger Plaza) and Cloud Gate. The sculpture and the Grainger Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. The plaza has become a place to view the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. During the holiday season, the plaza hosts Christmas caroling. ''Cloud Gate'', dubbed "The Bean" by Chicagoans because of its legume-like shape, is a three-story reflective steel sculpture. The first public artwork in the United States by world-renowned artist
Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the United Ki ...
, the privately funded piece cost $23 million, considerably more than the original estimate of $6 million. Composed of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It is and weighs . Its smooth shape and mirror-like surface were inspired by liquid mercury. It reflects the city skyline, particularly the historic Michigan Avenue "streetwall", and the sky. It provides striking reflections of visitors, who can walk around and under its high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, and is a popular photo subject with tourists. After Kapoor's design for the sculpture was selected in a design competition, numerous technological concerns regarding its construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns about the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture's construction fell behind schedule. ''Cloud Gate'' was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration, as the grid of welds around each metal panel was still visible. The sculpture was concealed again while it was completed; in early 2005, workers polished out the seams. ''Cloud Gate'' was formally dedicated on May 15, 2006, and it has since gained considerable popularity, domestically and internationally.


Crown Fountain

The ''Crown Fountain'' is an interactive work of public art and
video sculpture A video sculpture is a type of video installation that integrates video into an object, environment, site or performance. The nature of video sculpture is that it utilizes the material of video in an innovative way in space and time, different from ...
, named in honor of Chicago's Crown family and opened in July 2004. It was designed by Catalan conceptual artist
Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish people, Catalan visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. Biography Plensa was born in Barcelona, Ca ...
and executed by
Krueck and Sexton Architects Krueck Sexton Partners (formerly Krueck + Sexton Architects) is an architecture practice in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded by Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton in 1979. Tom Jacobs was named the third principal in 2011 and now serves as one of ...
. The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of transparent
glass brick Glass brick, also known as glass block, is an architectural element made from glass. The appearance of glass blocks can vary in color, size, texture and form. Glass bricks provide visual obscuration while admitting light. The modern glass block ...
towers. The towers are tall, and use
light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corre ...
s behind the bricks to display digital videos on their inward faces. Construction and design of the ''Crown Fountain'' cost $17 million. Weather permitting, the water operates from May to October, intermittently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face. To achieve the effect in which water appears to be flowing from subjects' mouths, each video has a segment where the subject's lips are puckered, which is then timed to correspond to the spouting water, reminiscent of
gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...
fountains; this happens roughly every five minutes. The park and fountain are open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Residents and critics have praised the fountain for its artistic and entertainment features. It highlights Plensa's themes of dualism, light, and water, extending the use of video technology from his prior works. The fountain promotes physical interaction between the public and the water in an artistic setting. Both the fountain and Millennium Park are highly accessible because of their universal design. The ''Crown Fountain'' has been the most controversial of all the Millennium Park features. Before it was built, some were concerned that the sculpture's height violated the aesthetic tradition of the park. New concerns were raised after the construction when the surveillance cameras were installed atop the fountain, which led to a public outcry (and their quick removal). However, the fountain has survived its somewhat contentious beginnings to find its way into Chicago pop culture. It is a popular subject for photographers and a common gathering place. While some of the videos displayed are of scenery, most attention has focused on its video clips of local residents, in which almost a thousand Chicagoans randomly appear on two screens. The fountain is a public play area and offers people an escape from summer heat, allowing children to frolic in the fountain's water.


Lurie Garden

The Lurie Garden is a public garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park; designed by
landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...
firm GGN (
Gustafson A derivative of the name Gustav, Gustafson, Gustafsson, Gustavson, or Gustavsson, is a group of surnames of Scandinavian origin, and may refer to the following people: Gustafson * Andy Gustafson (1903–1979), American collegiate football coach ...
Guthrie Nichol),
Piet Oudolf Piet Oudolf (; born 27 October 1944) is a Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movementhis designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses which are ch ...
, and Robert Israel, it opened on July 16, 2004. The garden is a combination of perennials, bulbs, native
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
grasses, shrubs and trees. It is the featured nature component of the world's largest
green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
. The garden cost $13.2 million and has a $10 million
financial endowment A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of Financial instrument, financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to Donor intent, the will of its fo ...
for maintenance and upkeep. It was named after philanthropist Ann Lurie, who donated the $10 million endowment. The garden is a tribute to the city, whose motto is "''Urbs in Horto''", Latin for "City in a Garden". The Lurie Garden is composed of two "plates". The dark plate depicts Chicago's history by presenting shade-loving plants, and has a combination of trees that will provide a shade
canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
for these plants when they fill in. The light plate, which has no trees, represents the city's future with sun-loving perennials that thrive in heat and light.


McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink and Park Grill

The McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink is a multipurpose venue located along the western edge of Millennium Park opposite the streetwall of the
Historic Michigan Boulevard District The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas in Chicago, community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue be ...
. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open, a few weeks ahead of the Millennium Park underground parking garage. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. For four months a year, it operates as McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, a free public outdoor
ice skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
. It is generally open for skating from mid-November until mid-March and hosts over 100,000 skaters annually. It is known as one of Chicago's better outdoor
people watching People-watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions in public. It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to interpret or guess at another person's story, interactions, and relationships with the limited d ...
locations during the winter months. The rink is operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs rather than the
Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...
, which operates most major public ice skating rinks in Chicago. For the rest of the year, it serves as The Plaza at Park Grill or Park Grill Plaza, Chicago's largest al fresco dining facility. The 150-seat outdoor restaurant offers scenic views of the park, and hosts various culinary events and musical performances during its months of operation. From June 21 to September 15, 2002, the plaza served as an open-air exhibition space and hosted the inaugural exhibit in Millennium Park, ''
Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American public utility headquartered in Chicago, and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue and is the largest regulated electric utility in the Uni ...
Presents Earth From Above'' by
Yann Arthus-Bertrand Yann Arthus-Bertrand (; born 13 March 1946) is a French environmentalist, activist, journalist and photographer. He has also directed films about the impact of humans on the planet. He is especially well known for his book '' Earth from Above'' ...
, a French aerial photographer. The Park Grill Plaza is affiliated with the 300-seat indoor Park Grill restaurant, located beneath the Grainger Plaza and ''Cloud Gate''. The Park Grill is the only full-service restaurant in Millennium Park and opened on November 24, 2003. It regularly places among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for best burger, and it is widely praised for its views. The restaurant has been the focus of controversies about the numerous associates of Mayor Daley who are investors, its exclusive location and lucrative contract terms. One of the most financially successful restaurants in Chicago, the Park Grill remains exempt from
property taxes A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net we ...
after a multi-year litigation which reached the
appellate courts An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...
in Illinois.


BP Pedestrian Bridge

The BP Pedestrian Bridge is a
girder A girder () is a Beam (structure), beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a sta ...
footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
over Columbus Drive that connects Millennium Park with
Maggie Daley Park Maggie Daley Park is a public park in the Loop community area of Chicago operated by the Chicago Park District. It is near the Lake Michigan shoreline in northeastern Grant Park where Daley Bicentennial Plaza previously stood. Maggie Daley ...
(formerly, Daley Bicentennial Plaza), both parts of the larger Grant Park. The pedestrian bridge is the first bridge Gehry designed to be built, and was named for BP plc, which donated $5 million to the construction of the park. It opened on July 16, 2004, along with the rest of Millennium Park. Gehry had been courted by the city to design the bridge and the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and eventually agreed to do so after the
Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in various business enterprises and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since th ...
funded the Pavilion. The bridge is known for its aesthetics, and Gehry's style is seen in its biomorphic allusions and extensive sculptural use of stainless steel plates to express abstraction. The bridge is referred to as snakelike in character due to its curving form. The bridge's design, which meets highway standards to accommodate rushes of pedestrian traffic simultaneously exiting Pritzker Pavilion events, enables it to bear a heavy load. The pedestrian bridge serves as a
noise barrier A noise barrier (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effecti ...
for the pavilion, blocking traffic sounds from Columbus Drive. It is a connecting link between Millennium Park and destinations to the east, such as the nearby lakefront, other parts of Grant Park and a parking garage. The BP Bridge uses a concealed
box girder A box girder or tubular girder (or box beam) is a girder that forms an enclosed tube with multiple walls, as opposed to an i-beam, - or H-beam. Originally constructed of wrought iron joined by riveting, they are now made of rolled steel, rolled ...
design with a concrete base, and its deck is covered by hardwood floor boards. It is designed without handrails, using stainless steel
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s instead. The total length is , with a five percent slope on its inclined surfaces that makes it
barrier-free Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability, or other factors. It emerged as a rights-based, anti-discrimination measure, which seeks to create design ...
and accessible. It has won awards for its use of sheet metal. Although the bridge is closed in winter because ice cannot be safely removed from its wooden walkway, it has received favorable reviews for its design and aesthetics.


Harris Theater

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is a 1525-seat theater for the performing arts located along the northern edge of Millennium Park. Constructed in 2002–03, it is the city's premier performance venue for small- and medium-sized performance groups, which had previously been without a permanent home and were underserved by the city's performing venue options. The theater, which is largely underground due to Grant Park-related height restrictions, was named for its primary benefactors, Joan and Irving Harris. It serves as the park's indoor performing venue, a compliment to Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which hosts the park's outdoor performances. Among the regularly featured local groups are the
Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual ...
,
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is a contemporary dance company based in Chicago. Hubbard Street performs in downtown Chicago at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Hub ...
and
Chicago Opera Theater The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. COT is a resident company at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park and is currently in residence at the newly renovated Stude ...
. It provides subsidized rental, technical expertise, and marketing support for the companies using it, and turned a profit in its fourth fiscal year. The Harris Theater has hosted notable national and international performers, such as the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
, which made its first visit to Chicago in over 25 years (in 2006). The theater began offering subscription series of traveling performers in its 2008–09 fifth anniversary season. Performances through this series have included the
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
,
Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...
, and
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
. The theater has been credited as contributing to the performing arts renaissance in Chicago, and it has been favorably reviewed for its
acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
,
sightline The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observation, observer/wikt:spectator, spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction (geometry), relative ...
s,
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
and for providing a home base for numerous performing organizations. Although it is seen as a high-caliber venue for its music audiences, the theater is regarded as less than ideal for jazz groups, because it is more expensive and larger than most places where jazz is performed. The design has been criticized for traffic flow problems, with an elevator bottleneck. However, the theater's prominent location and its underground design to preserve Millennium Park have been praised. Although there were complaints about high-priced events in its early years, discounted ticket programs were introduced in the 2009–10 season.


Wrigley Square

Wrigley Square is a public square located in the northwest corner of Millennium Park near the intersection of East
Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...
and North
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, across from the
Historic Michigan Boulevard District The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas in Chicago, community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue be ...
. It contains the Millennium Monument, a nearly full-sized replica of the semicircle of paired Greek Doric-style columns (called a
peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...
) that originally sat in this area of Grant Park between 1917 and 1953. The square also contains a large lawn and a public fountain. The William Wrigley, Jr. Foundation contributed $5 million for the monument and square, which was named in its honor. The pedestal of the Millennium Monument's peristyle is inscribed with the names of the 115 financial donors who made the 91 contributions of at least $1 million each to help pay for Millennium Park.


McDonald's Cycle Center

The McDonald's Cycle Center is a 300-space heated and air conditioned indoor
bike station A bicycle parking station, or bicycle garage, is a building or structure designed for use as a bicycle parking facility. Such a facility can be as simple as a lockable bike cage or shed or as complex as a purpose-built multi-level building: t ...
located in the northeast corner of Millennium Park. The facility provides lockers, showers, a snack bar with outdoor summer seating, bike repair, bike rental and other amenities for downtown bicycle commuters and utility cyclists. The bike station also accommodates runners and in-line skaters, and provides space for a
Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...
Bike Patrol Group. The city-built center opened in July 2004 as the Millennium Park Bike Station; since June 2006, it has been sponsored by
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
and several other partners, including city departments and bicycle advocacy organizations. Suburban Chicago-based McDonald's sponsorship of the Cycle Center fit in well with its efforts to help its customers become more healthy by encouraging "balanced, active lifestyles". The Cycle Center is accessible by membership and day pass. Planning for the Cycle Center was part of the larger "Bike 2010 Plan", in which the city aimed to make itself more accommodating to bicycle commuters. This plan (since replaced by the "Bike 2015 Plan") included provisions for front-mounted two-bike carriers on
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
(CTA) buses, permitting bikes to be carried on
Chicago 'L' Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los ...
trains, installing numerous bike racks and creating bicycle lanes in streets throughout the city. Additionally, the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...
's other mass transit providers, Metra and Pace, have developed increased bike accessibility. Mayor Daley was an advocate of the plan, noting it is also an environmentally friendly effort to cut down on traffic. Environmentalists,
urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...
s and cycling enthusiasts around the world have expressed interest in the Cycle Center, and want to emulate what they see as a success story in urban planning and transit-oriented development. Pro-cycling and environmentalist journalists in publications well beyond Chicago have described the Cycle Center as exemplary, impressive, unique and ground-breaking. The ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' notes that it is revered as "a kind of
Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
", and describes it as "a jewel-like glass building on the Chicago waterfront,
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
/nowiki> has many of the amenities of an upscale health club ... close to the heart of the city", with the additional statement that "It's not heaven, but it's close". A Vancouver official told ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'' that it was "the ultimate in bicycle stations", and would be natural for bicycle friendly cities to emulate.


Exelon Pavilions

The Exelon Pavilions are a set of four
solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...
-generating structures in Millennium Park. The pavilions provide sufficient energy to power the equivalent of 14
Energy star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...
-rated energy-efficient houses in Chicago. The pavilions were designed in January 2001 and construction began in January 2004. The Southeast and Southwest Exelon Pavilions (jointly the South Exelon Pavilions) along Madison Street were completed and opened in July 2004, and flank the Lurie Garden. The Northeast and Northwest Exelon Pavilions (jointly the North Exelon Pavilions) flank the Harris Theater along Randolph Street and were completed in November 2004, with a grand opening on April 30, 2005. Besides producing energy, three of the four pavilions provide access to the park's underground parking garages and the fourth serves as the park's welcome center.
Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American public utility headquartered in Chicago, and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue and is the largest regulated electric utility in the Uni ...
, a company that generates the electricity transmitted by its subsidiary
Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the primary electric provider in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquoi ...
, donated approximately $6 million for the pavilions.


Boeing Galleries

The Boeing Galleries are a pair of outdoor exhibition spaces within Millennium Park; they are located along the south and north mid-level terraces, above and east of Wrigley Square and the ''Crown Fountain''. They were added after the park opened; in March 2005,
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
President and
Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
James Bell announced the firm would make a $5 million grant to fund construction of the spaces, and for an endowment to "help fund visual arts exhibitions" in them. The galleries, which were built between March and June 2005, have hosted grand-scale art exhibits, some of which have run for two full summers.


Chase Promenade

The Chase Promenade is an open-air tree-lined pedestrian walkway in Millennium Park that opened July 16, 2004. The promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation; Bank One merged with
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
in 2004, and the name became Chase Promenade. The walkway accommodates exhibitions, festivals and other family events. It also serves as a private-event rental venue. The Chase Promenade hosted the 2009 Burnham Pavilions, which were the cornerstone of the citywide
Burnham Plan The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 ''Plan of Chicago'' coauthored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett and published in 1909. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railro ...
centennial celebration.


Nichols Bridgeway

The Nichols Bridgeway, a pedestrian bridge that opened on May 16, 2009, connects the south end of Millennium Park with the Modern Wing of the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
. The bridge begins at the southwest end of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion's Great Lawn and extends across Monroe Street, where it connects to the third floor of the Art Institute's West Pavilion. The bridge design by
Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable works include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), Kansai International Airport in Osaka (1994), the Whitney ...
, the architect of the Modern Wing, was inspired by the
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
of a boat. The Nichols Bridgeway is approximately long and wide. The bottom of the bridge is made of white, painted structural steel, the floor is made of aluminum planking and the tall railings are steel set atop stainless steel mesh. The bridge features anti-slip walkways and heating elements to prevent the formation of ice. It meets standards for universal accessibility, as required by the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
(ADA). The bridge is named after museum donors Alexandra and John Nichols.


Budget

During development and construction of the park, many structures were added, redesigned or modified. These changes often resulted in budget increases. For example, the bandshell's proposed budget was $10.8 million. When the elaborate, cantilevered Gehry design required extra pilings to be driven into the bedrock to support the added weight, the cost of the bandshell eventually spiraled to $60.3 million. The cost of the park, as itemized in the following table, amounted to almost $500 million. Mayor Daley at first placed much of the blame for the delay and cost overrun on Frank Gehry, who designed the pavilion and its connecting bridge; Daley's office later apologized to the architect. A 2001 investigative report by the ''Chicago Tribune'' described the park then under construction and its budget overruns as an "expensive public-works debacle that can be traced to haphazard planning, design snafus and cronyism". According to Lois Weisberg, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and James Law, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Special Events, once the full scope of the project was finalized the project was completed within the revised budget.


Use

Millennium Park had 3 million visitors in its first year; annual attendance was projected to grow to between 3.31 and 3.65 million by 2010. According to ''Crain's Chicago Business'', however, the park had about 4 million visitors in 2009. In addition to the different uses detailed for each of the permanent features (above), the park has hosted some other notable events, including the annual Grant Park Music Festival, and two temporary pavilions to mark the centennial of
Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...
's 1909
Plan of Chicago The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 ''Plan of Chicago'' coauthored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett and published in 1909. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railr ...
. Millennium Park has also been featured in several films and television shows.


Grant Park Music Festival

The Grant Park Music Festival (formerly Grant Park Concerts) is an annual 10-week
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
concert series, which features the
Grant Park Symphony Orchestra The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra or simply the Grant Park Orchestra is a publicly sponsored symphony orchestra that provides free performances in the Grant Park Music Festival during the summer months in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. Its ...
and the Grant Park Chorus as well as guest performers and conductors. Since 2004, the festival has been housed in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. On occasion, the festival has been held at the Harris Theater instead of the Pritzker Pavilion. The festival has earned
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
status, and claims to be the nation's only free, outdoor classical music series. The Grant Park Music Festival has been a Chicago tradition since 1931, when Chicago Mayor
Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak (May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th Mayor of Chicago from April 7, 1931, until his death in 1933. He was killed by Giuseppe Zangara, whose likely target was President-elec ...
suggested free concerts to lift spirits of Chicagoans during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The tradition of symphonic Grant Park Music Festival concerts began in 1935. The 2004 season, during which the festival moved to the Pritzker Pavilion, was the event's 70th season. Formerly, the Grant Park Music Festival was held at the
Petrillo Music Shell The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the James C. Petrillo Music Shell) is an outdoor amphitheater in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United State ...
in Grant Park. Over time the festival has had various financial supporters, three primary locations and one name change. At times it has been broadcast nationally on the
National Broadcasting Corporation The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
(NBC) and
Columbia Broadcasting Service CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
(CBS) radio networks, and many of the world's leading classical musicians have performed there. In 2000, the festival organizers agreed to release some of the concerts to the public via
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
recordings.


Installation of Burnham Pavilions in 2009

In 2009, architects
Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...
and
Ben van Berkel Ben van Berkel (born January 25, 1957) is a Dutch architect. He is the founder and principal architect of the architectural practice UNStudio. With his studio he designed, among others, the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, the Moebius House in the ...
were invited to design and build two pavilions on the Chase Promenade South, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. The pavilions were privately funded and were designed to be temporary structures. They served as the focal point of Chicago's year-long celebration of Burnham's Plan, and were meant to symbolize the city's continued pursuit of the plan's architectural vision. The van Berkel Pavilion was composed of two parallel rectangular planes joined by curving scoops, all built on a steel frame covered with glossy white plywood. It was situated on a raised platform, which was sliced by a ramp entrance, making it ADA accessible. The Hadid Pavilion was a tensioned fabric shell fitted over a curving aluminum framework made of more than 7,000 pieces. A centennial-themed video presentation was projected on its interior fabric walls after dark. Both pavilions were scheduled to be unveiled on June 19, 2009. However, Hadid's pavilion was not ready in time; it had construction delays and a construction team change, which led to coverage of the delay in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. Only its aluminum skeleton was available for public viewing on the scheduled date; the work was completed and unveiled on August 4, 2009. The van Berkel pavilion was temporarily closed for repairs August 10–14, due to unanticipated wear and tear. Both pavilions were dismantled after November 1, 2009; the materials from van Berkel's were recycled, while Hadid's was stored for possible exhibition elsewhere.


Christmas tree

In October 2015, the city announced that its official annual
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
lighting, which had been held at
Daley Center The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offic ...
since 1966 (except for 1982), would be held at the park in order that the official Christmas tree of the city could be closer to ice skating at McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink, the annual
Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
ing at Cloud Gate and to the new offerings of the nearby
Maggie Daley Park Maggie Daley Park is a public park in the Loop community area of Chicago operated by the Chicago Park District. It is near the Lake Michigan shoreline in northeastern Grant Park where Daley Bicentennial Plaza previously stood. Maggie Daley ...
. The annual tree raising now occurs in the park near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. Some parties opposed the move that separated the annual tree from the Christkindlmarket and the ''
Chicago Picasso The Chicago Picasso (often just ''The Picasso'') is an untitled monumental sculpture by Pablo Picasso in Daley Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. The 1967 installation of ''The Picasso'', "precipitated an aesthetic shift in civic and urban planning, br ...
''. The city's first official tree lighting by Mayor Carter Harrison, Jr. in 1913 had been held in Grant Park on Michigan Avenue two blocks south of the new location.


In popular culture

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing List of Curb Your Enthusiasm characters#Jeff Greene, Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and Murray ...
claims that ''
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With ''I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With'' is a 2006 American independent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Jeff Garlin, also featuring Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt. Many improv veterans of Chicago's Second City and ...
'' was the first Hollywood movie to incorporate Millennium Park. The film was not released until 2006, after the release of several other movies. These include the 2005 film ''
The Weather Man ''The Weather Man'' is a 2005 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Steve Conrad, and starring Nicolas Cage as a Chicago-area weatherman who is in a midst of a mid-life crisis even as his career is potentially ...
'', which starred
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...
and was filmed in part at the park's McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. The 2006 romantic comedy ''
The Break-Up ''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, based on a story by Jay Lavender, Jeremy Garelick, and Vince Vaughn, with a screenplay by Lavender and Garelick. The film stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer An ...
'' shot scenes in the park, then had to reshoot some of them because ''Cloud Gate'' was under cover in some of the initial shots. Other movies which include scenes filmed in Millennium Park include the 2005 thriller '' Derailed'', the 2006 romance '' The Lake House'', and the 2007 thriller '' Butterfly on a Wheel''. At least two television series have filmed in the park, including '' Leverage'' and ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
'', which featured shots of the ''Crown Fountain'' in the first few episodes of its first season (2005). In the ending scene of ''
Source Code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
'' (2011),
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...
's and
Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( , born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She has starred in the films ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), ''Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), ''Made of Honor'' (2008), ''Eagle Eye'' (2008), ''Trucker (film), Trucker'' (2008), '' ...
's characters are seen walking through Millennium Park, and make their way to the ''Cloud Gate''. In the 2012
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
, '' The Vow'', the characters run from the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
across the
Nichols Bridgeway The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Art Institute of Chicago Bui ...
to Millennium Park, where they kiss under ''
Cloud Gate ''Cloud Gate'' is a public art, public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, t ...
''. The book series Divergent has several events set in the part, with mentions of the
Cloud Gate ''Cloud Gate'' is a public art, public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, t ...
sculpture (referred to as The Bean), the
Jay Pritzker Pavilion Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...
, as well as the park itself, though it is only referred to as Millennium in the novel. The faction Erudite has their headquarters across from the park in the book series. The park was featured in the 2014 action-adventure video game
Watch Dogs ''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rele ...
.


Controversy


Height restrictions

In 1836, a year before Chicago was incorporated, the Board of Canal Commissioners held public auctions for the city's first lots. Foresighted citizens, who wanted the lakefront kept as public open space, convinced the commissioners to designate the land east of Michigan Avenue between
Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...
and Park Row (11th Street) "Public Ground—A Common to Remain Forever Open, Clear and Free of Any Buildings, or Other Obstruction, whatever." Grant Park has been "forever open, clear and free" since, protected by legislation that has been affirmed by four previous
Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the fiv ...
rulings. In 1839,
United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...
Joel Roberts Poinsett Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779December 12, 1851) was an American physician, botanist, politician, and diplomat. He was the first U.S. agent in South America, a member of the South Carolina Legislature, and later a United States Representat ...
upon decommissioning the
Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort, first built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by U.S. troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secre ...
reserve, declared the land between Randolph Street and Madison Street east of Michigan Avenue "Public Ground forever to remain vacant of buildings".
Aaron Montgomery Ward Aaron Montgomery Ward (February 17, 1843 – December 7, 1913) was an American entrepreneur based in Chicago who made his fortune through the use of mail order for retail sales of general merchandise to rural customers. In 1872 he founded Montg ...
, who is known both as the inventor of
mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...
and the protector of Grant Park, twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. In 1890, arguing that Michigan Avenue property owners held
easement An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...
s on the park land, Ward commenced legal actions to keep the park free of new buildings. In 1900, the Illinois Supreme Court concluded that all landfill east of Michigan Avenue was subject to dedications and easements. In 1909, when Ward sought to prevent the construction of the
Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
in the center of the park, the courts affirmed his arguments. As a result, the city has what are termed Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park. However, the ''Crown Fountain'' and the Pritzker Pavilion were exempt from the height restrictions, because they were classified as works of art and not buildings or structures. According to ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', the pavilion is described as a work of art to dodge the protections established by Ward, who is said to continue to rule and protect Grant Park from his grave. The Harris Theater, which is adjacent to Pritzker Pavilion, was built almost entirely underground to avoid the height restrictions. The height of the ''Crown Fountain'', which is also exempted as a work of art, has been described as stemming from a "pissing contest" with other park feature artists.


Financial issues

The Millennium Park project has been the subject of some criticism since its inception. In addition to concerns about cost overruns, individuals and organizations have complained that the money spent on the park might have gone to other worthy causes. Although the park's design and architectural elements have won wide praise, there has been some criticism of its aesthetics. Other criticism has revolved around the larger issue of political favors in the city. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported in July 2004 that a contract for park cleanup had gone to a company that made contributions to Mayor Daley's election campaign. The park's full-service restaurant, Park Grill, has been criticized for its connection to numerous friends and associates of the mayor. Concerns have also been raised over the mixed use of taxpayer and corporate funding and associated naming rights for sections of the park. While a monument in Wrigley Square honors the park's many private and corporate donors, many park features are also named for their corporate underwriters, with the sponsors' names prominently indicated with stone markers (The Boeing Gallery, The Exelon Pavilion, The Grainger Plaza, The Wrigley Square). Some critics have deemed this to be inappropriate for a public space. Julie Deardorff, ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' health and fitness reporter, described the naming of the McDonald's Cycle Center as a continuation of the " 'McDonaldization' of America" and as somewhat "insidious" because the company is making itself more prominent as the social sentiment is to move away from
fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
. Timothy Gilfoyle, author of ''Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark'', notes that a controversy surrounds the corporate naming of several of the park's features, including the BP Bridge, named for an
oil company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products o ...
. Naming rights were sold for high fees, and Gilfoyle was not the only one who chastised park officials for selling naming rights to the highest bidder. Public interest groups have crusaded against commercialization of parks. However, many of the donors have a long history of local philanthropy and their funds were essential to provide necessary financing for several park features. Ticket prices for both the Harris Theater and the Pritzker Pavilion have been controversial. John von Rhein, classical music critic for the ''Chicago Tribune'', notes that the theater's size poses a challenge to performers attempting to fill its seats, and feels that it overemphasizes high-priced events. In 2009–2010, the theater introduced two discounted ticket programs: a $5 lunchtime series of 45-minute dance performances, and a $10 ticket program for in-person, cash-only purchases in the last 90 minutes before performances. Once the pavilion was built, the initial plan was that the lawn seating would be free for all events. An early brochure for the Grant Park Music Festival said "You never need a ticket to attend a concert! The lawn and the general seating section are always admission free." However, when parking garage revenue fell short of estimates during the first year, the city charged $10 for lawn seating at the August 31, 2005, concert by
Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
. Amos, a classically trained musician who chose only piano and organ accompaniment for her concert, earned positive reviews as the inaugural
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
performer in a venue that regularly hosts classical music. The city justified the charge by contending that since the pavilion is an open-air venue, there were many places in Millennium Park where people could have enjoyed the music or the atmosphere of the park without having to pay.


Use restrictions

When Millennium Park first opened in 2004 Metra Police stopped a
Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
student working on a photography project, and confiscated his film because of fears of terrorism. In 2005, ''Cloud Gate'' attracted some controversy when a professional photographer without a paid permit was denied access to the piece. As is the case for all works of art currently covered by United States
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
law, the artist holds the copyright for the sculpture. The public may freely photograph ''Cloud Gate'', but permission from Kapoor or the City of Chicago (which has licensed the art) is required for any commercial reproductions of the photographs. Initially the city charged photographers permit fees of $350 per day for professional still photographers, $1,200 per day for professional
videographer Videography involves capturing moving images on electronic media (such as: videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage), and can include streaming media. It encompasses both video production and post-production methods. Histori ...
s and $50 per hour for wedding photographers. The policy has been changed so permits are only required for large-scale film, video and photography requiring 10-person crews. Almost all of Millennium Park was closed for a day for corporate events in 2005 and 2006. Closing a public park partly paid for with taxpayer money was controversial, as was the exclusion of commuters who walk through the park and tourists lured by its attractions. On September 8, 2005,
Toyota Motor Sales USA Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS, also known as Toyota USA) is the North American Toyota sales, marketing, and distribution subsidiary devoted to the United States market. Founded in 1957 in California, TMS currently employs more than 6,500 pe ...
paid $800,000 to rent all park venues from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m, except Wrigley Square, the Lurie Garden, the McDonald's Cycle Center and the ''Crown Fountain''. The city said the money was used to fund day-to-day operations, and for free events in the park, including the Lurie Garden Festival, a Steppenwolf Theater production, musical performers along the Chase Promenade all summer long, a jazz series, and children's concerts. The name of Toyota, one of the sponsors, was included on Millennium Park brochures, web site, and advertising signage. The closure provided a public relations opportunity for
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, which shuttled 1,500 tourists from the park to see other Chicago attractions. Toyota said it considered $300,000 a rental expense and $500,000 a sponsoring donation. On August 7, 2006,
Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still pa ...
, which paid $200,000 as a rental expense and $500,000 as a sponsoring donation, acquired the visitation rights to a different set of park features (including Lurie Garden), and only had exclusive access to certain features after 4 p.m. The park is closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Chicago is a dog-friendly city with a half dozen dog beaches, however the city does not permit dogs in the park. Only on-duty
service dog An assistance dog is a dog that receives specialized training to aid an individual with a disability in navigating everyday life. Assistance dogs can be trained by an organization, or by their handler. Terminology 'Assistance dog' is the inte ...
s for the disabled or visually impaired are permitted.


Surveillance cameras

In November 2006, the ''Crown Fountain'' became the focus of a public controversy when the city added
surveillance camera A closed-circuit television camera is a type of surveillance camera that transmits video signals to a specific set of monitors or video recording devices, rather than broadcasting the video over public airwaves. The term "closed-circuit televisi ...
s atop each tower. Purchased with a $52 million
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
grant, the cameras augmented eight others covering all of Millennium Park. City officials had consulted the architects who collaborated with Plensa on the tower designs, but not Plensa himself. Public reaction was negative, as bloggers and the artistic community decried the cameras as inappropriate and a blight on the towers. The city said that the cameras would be replaced with permanent, less intrusive models in several months; it contended that the cameras, similar to those used throughout Chicago in high-crime areas and at traffic intersections, had been added largely for security reasons but also partly to help park officials monitor burnt-out LED lights on the fountain. The ''Chicago Tribune'' published an article on the cameras and the public reaction; the cameras were removed the next day, with Plensa's support.


Reception and recognition

The ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' describes Millennium Park as "an extraordinary public park that is set to create new iconic images of the city", and further notes that it is "a genuinely 21st-century interactive park
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
could trigger a new way of thinking about public outdoor spaces". ''Time'' magazine views both ''Cloud Gate'' and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion as part of a well-planned visit to Chicago.
Frommer's Frommer's () is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the com ...
lists exploring Millennium Park as one of the four best free things to do in the city, and it commends the park for its various artistic offerings. ''
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
'' recommends an hour-long stroll to see the park's playful art. The park is praised as a "showcase of art and urban design" by the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'', while ''Time'' refers to it as an "artfully re-arranged ... civic phantasmagoria like Antonio Gaudí's
Park Güell Park Güell ( ; ) is a complex of parks and gardens in Barcelona with architectural elements, located in the La Salut neighborhood of the Gràcia district in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the southern slope of the Turó del Car ...
in Barcelona, with the difference that this one is the product of an ensemble of creative spirits". The book ''1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die'' describes Millennium Park as a renowned attraction. The park was designed to be accessible; it only needs a single
wheelchair lift A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, or vertical platform lift, is a fully powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier. Wheelchair lifts can be installed in ...
and its accessibility won its project director the 2005 Barrier-Free America Award. The McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion both provide accessible restrooms. The park opened with 78 women's toilet fixtures and 45 for men, with heated facilities on the east side of the Pritzker Pavilion. It also had about six dozen park benches designed by GGN (Gustafson Guthrie Nichol), the
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
responsible for the Lurie Garden. In 2005, the park won the Green Roof Award of Excellence in the Intensive Industrial/Commercial category from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). GRHC considers the park to be one of the largest
green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
s in the world; it covers "a structural deck supported by two reinforced concrete cast-in-place garages and steel structures that span over the remaining railroad tracks". In 2005 the park also received ''
Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...
s Design Award for "Best Public Space", and the American Public Works Association's "Project of the Year" Award. In its first year, the park, its features and associated people received over 30 awards. Some mayors from other cities have admired the park as an example of successful
urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
. The mayor of
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
enjoyed his visit to the park, and San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
wished his city could create a similar type of civic amenity. Closer to home,
Blair Kamin Blair Kamin was the architecture critic of the ''Chicago Tribune'', for 28 years from 1992 to 2021. Kamin has held other jobs at the Tribune and previously worked for ''The Des Moines Register''. He also serves as a contributing editor of ''Archit ...
, the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning architecture critic for the ''Chicago Tribune'', concluded his 2004 review of Millennium Park with the following: "...a park provides a respite from the city, yet it also reflects the city. In that sense, all of Millennium Park mirrors the rebirth of Chicago ... the ambition of its patrons, the creativity of its artists and architects, and the ongoing miracle of its ability to transform a no place into a someplace that's extraordinary." In 2009, Millennium Park won the
Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) was established in 1986 by Cambridge, Massachusetts architect Simeon Bruner. The award is named after Simeon Bruner's late father, Rudy Bruner, founder of the Bruner Foundation. According to the B ...
silver medal. In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, Millennium Park was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
Illinois component (AIA Illinois) and was recognized by USA Today Travel magazine, as one of AIA Illinois' selections for Illinois 25 Must See Places.


See also

*
Architecture of Chicago The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (an exception being t ...
*
List of concert halls A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...
*
List of contemporary amphitheatres This is a list of amphitheatres in use today with a capacity of at least 1,000. Amphitheatres by capacity See also * List of concert halls * List of jazz venues * List of opera houses * List of Roman amphitheatres * Lists of stadiums Ex ...
*
Park conservancy A park conservancy is a type of private, non-profit organization in the United States, that can support the maintenance, capital development, and advocacy for parks or park systems. These organizations raise money through a variety of means to care ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Millennium Park FoundationMillennium Park map

City of Chicago Loop Community MapArchive
at ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''
Archive
at ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
''
Millennium Park digital photographs at Chicago Public LibraryMillennium Park from satellite

Millennium Park
at Illinois Great Places
Society of Architectural Historians SAH ARCHIPEDIA entry on Millennium Park
{{featured article 2004 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures celebrating the third millennium Central Chicago Parks in Chicago Richard M. Daley Urban public parks Protected areas established in 2004