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Park History
"From the 1850s through the late 20th century, the site that is now occupied by Millennium Park was controlled by the Illinois Central Railroad. In Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago he considered the railroad property to be so untouchable that he developed the Grant Park portion of the plan around it."
Millennium Park Web site
http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkhistory/
Photo: http://www.millenniumpark.org/images/parkhistory_photo1.jpg
Please note: March 15 is not correct -
Park Conception
"In 1997 Mayor Richard M. Daley directed his staff to develop plans for a new music venue to be built over the active tracks and surface parking lot. What is now Millennium Park was first conceived in 1998 with the mission of creating new parkland in Grant Park to transform the unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots that had long dotted the lakefront."
Millennium Park Web site
http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkhistory/
Photo:
http://www.progressillinois.com/files/image -
Land Handover
Millennium Park now occupies land that was believed to belong to the Illinois Central Railroad - in 1996 the City filed a lawsuit against the ICR to reclaim some of the land and won. "The ICR donates its rights, title and interest in
lakefront property – from McCormick Place North to Randolph
Street – to the City of Chicago." www.brunerfoundation.org/rba/pdfs/2009/MP.FINAL.pdf
2009 Rudy Bruner Award: Silver Medal Winner
Millennium Park/Chicago, Illinois -
Work begins
"Work on Millennium Park’s supporting
foundations begins, based on plans prepared by Skidmore Owingsand Merrill, LL P (SO M)." http://www.brunnerfoundation.org
Image (Chicago Public Library): http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmpu&CISOPTR=6302&DMSCALE=25.00000&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMMODE=viewer&DMFULL=0&DMOLDSCALE=6.25000&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&DMTHUMB=1&REC=2&DMROTATE=0&x=110&y=65 -
Cloud Gate's Trial Assembly
"The sculpture was made by PSI in Oakland, California, then disassembled, and transported to Chicago. When Millennium Park opened to the public in July 2004 the sculpture was not yet complete. While the piece was fully assembled, the welds still had to be ground out and polished." Chicago Public Library:
http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/archivalcoll/mpi_cloudgate.php Photo
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mpu&CISOPTR=1457&CISOBOX=1&REC=9 -
Constructing Pavilion
"The trellis...is comprised of 22 criss-crossing poles that are attached to columns around the edge of the Great Lawn. Each pole is between 12 inches and 20 inches in diameter, and as they were being installed they were held up by green scaffolding towers shown here. Once the poles were welded together and firmly anchored to the peripheral columns, the scaffolding was removed."
Chicago Public Library
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mpu&CISOPTR=5020&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 -
Crown Fountain Video Filming
"The faces that appear on Crown Fountain were filmed (in a dentist chair) by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Over 1,000 people, from over 75 different ethnic, social, and religious organizations throughout the Chicago area, were filmed for the project."
Chicago Public Library
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mpu&CISOPTR=4123&CISOBOX=1&REC=12
A man being filmed for the Fountain's video bank -
Cloud Gate
Although Cloud Gate was fully assembled by the end of June 2004, and unveiled to the public in July, it still needed to be fully welded, ground and polished.
Chicago Public Library
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mpu&CISOPTR=2238&CISOBOX=1&REC=18 -
Millennium Park Opens
The grand opening ceremony for the park was a three day celebration - even though the park was finished four years behind schedule and cost three times as much was budgeted. Chicago Public Library
http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/archivalcoll/mpi_opening.php
2009 Rudy Bruner Award: Silver Medal Winner/Millennium Park/Chicago, Illinois
http://www.brunerfoundation.org Photo:
http://www.bizbash.com/content/resource/ResourceImage/big/r825370Image05.jpg -
Park closes for a day
"Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. paid the city $800,000.00 to rent the park for a private party. $300,000 was earmarked for day-to-day operating expenses. The rest for free concerts and other activities for the general public. It turned out to be just the first of many private events to take over what was supposed to be public space." Cloud Gate/Chicago Architecture Info
http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/636/Cloud_Gate.php
Photo (Chicago Public Library)
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/i -
The "Bean" is complete
"Crews finished buffing and polishing the seams out of the sculpture. It was finally completed and available to the public.
Facts:
The sculpture was completely created in California. It was then taken apart, shipped to Chicago and reassembled."
Cloud Gate Info/Chicago Architecture Info
http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/636/Cloud_Gate.php
Photo: Chicago Public Library
http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/mpu&CISOPTR=2235&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 -
McCormick Tribune Ice Rink Closes
Until next skating season... Photo:
Melissa Lopardo -
Today
"Today, with its unprecedented combination of architecture, monumental sculpture and landscape design, the 24.5 acre Millennium Park has become the crowning achievement for Chicago in the tradition of its original founders."
Millennium Park Web site
http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkhistory/ Photo:
http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/ -
"In the Works"
Millennium Park's new theater lab series will be featuring "Aiming for Sainthood" March 25-27, 2010. "Aiming for Sainthood" was written and will be performed by Arlene Malinowski, Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright. "With the In the Works series, audiences have a chance to sit on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, experiencing works in development by local theater artists or companies." Photo:
Arlene Malinowski
http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkevents/event.aspx?id=974 -
Art Exhibit Ends at Boeing Galleries
A Conversation with Chicago: Contemporary Sculpture From China
Current art exhibit at Boeing Galleries features Chinese contemporary artists; Sui Jianguo, Zhan Wang, Shen Shaomin, and Chen Wenling. The exhibit ends October 11, 2010
Millennium Park Web site
http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkevents/event.aspx?id=884
Photo: City of Chicago/GRC
