Millennium Park: former eyesore now a sight for sore eyes
Published: Mar 19, 2009
After a long winter in the Windy City, Millennium Park serves not only as a downtown tourist destination, but also a good weather barometer. When the park fills with visitors, it’s a good bet spring has finally arrived.
The 24.5-acre attraction along Michigan Avenue in the heart of downtown hasn’t always been a welcome respite for weary workers and sightseers. From the late 1800s until 1998, the parcel of land near Grant Park housed unsightly train tracks and parking lots controlled by the Illinois Central Railroad.
In 1997, Chicago began an ambitious public undertaking, partnering with innovative architects and artists to create a modern center for music, art and landscape design along Lake Michigan.
Open since 2004, the park now offers both pay and free concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a hyper-modern stainless steel outdoor venue designed by famed architect Frank Gehry that can accommodate up to 11,000 spectators. In the park’s southwest corner, the Crown Fountain’s 50-foot-tall glass-block towers bookend a shallow reflecting pool where children can play on hot summer days.
Millennium Park also contains a fantastical metal footbridge, elaborate gardens, art exhibitions, a live-performance theater, a winter ice rink and a year-round restaurant. But perhaps its most famous attraction is the Cloud Gate.
A 110-ton polished stainless steel sculpture measuring 66 feet long and soaring 33 feet tall, the artwork resembles and has become affectionately known as “The Bean.” Park visitors can see themselves and Chicago’s famed skyline mirrored in the popular sculpture’s smooth metal surface.
The 1,525-seat Harris Theater hosts jazz, opera, other musical perfromances, two dance companies and other live performances. For details, check the Harris Theater's Current Season webpage.
Bridges connect Millenium Park to other parts of Grant Park. The park has its own parking garage that accommodates 2,218 cars. The McCormick Tribune Plaza's ice rink is free and is generally open for skating from mid-November to mid-March. The rest of year, the plaza serves as the Windy City's biggest outdoor eatery.
Despite high construction costs ($475 million, including $270 million from the city, and some opposition to its hyper-modern aesthetic, Millennium Park has become a must-see for Chicago tourists and a relaxing destination for locals.
- by D.J. Siegel, Chicago Reporter for HelloMetro
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