Chicago’s Millennium Park Making A Splash
I spent some time this evening in Chicago’s much heralded new Millennium Park. Pretty impressive but not perfect.
Above is probably my favorite spot in the park, the Crown Fountain, which features the faces of 1,000 Chicago residents on a 50ft tall LED glass block screen/fountain. Kids were having a blast as were many adults. I took off my sandals and walked through.
In the morning I’ll get a chance to see it in the daytime. Not sure if it can live up to its hype and price tag.
– Steve
Check out the local Chicago newspapers, there appears to have been some corruption involved with some of the Millenium Park project. Status quo in Chicago city affairs. Chicago has some great free events and festivals for the public, but with all the kickbacks in city politics, citizens pay for it one way or another.
Tom and I saw Millenium park in the snow at Christmas — it was magical.
Claire and I love Crown Fountain! I’m ambivalent about the rest of the park — a lot of it is rendered difficult to access due to buffers and surveillance (lots of security guards in this park). The fountain is in an ideal urban spot: immediately adjacent to a major street, Michigan Avenue, with heavy pedestrian traffic and shops and restaurants right across the street. It’s connected to the Loop while much of the rest of the park is not. Anyone can visit the fountain without traveling too far out of one’s way, and its highly visible to people on foot who are not looking for it but become intrigued at the sight.
Bummed me out seeing how much we have packaged and sold civic virtue to the corporation – as if the marketplace were public discourse. Beautiful and fun park – especially nice to be able to take the overpass, but seeing all the corporate naming depresses me.
Can you imagine undertaking a public works project like Forest Park Today? Or Tower Grove Park? We would have to sell naming rights to make it a go.
Crazy.
Doesn’t the History Museum in Forest Park already carry the name of a major St. Louis corporation (Emerson), as well as the Living World at the Zoo, not to mention the “McDonnell” Planetarium?
This is a good thing, and helps to keep these institutions free to the public.
RB
[REPLY – There was a time that corporations gave because it was the responsible thing to do – giving back to the communities that made them so much wealth. Then we had a simple plaque showing the major donors. Fine. Well, it Millennium Park EVERY section of the relatively small park is named for a coroporation. This is not a good thing. Not every piece of public space should be sold for naming rights. At some point it is no longer public space — it simply becomes one big advertising blitz. – Steve]
Haven’t seen Millenium Park, so can’t comment on how it feels to see so much corporate endorsement plastered on the facility. However in terms of right here in St. Louis, Forest Park for example, do people think there is too much corporate presence there?
I have been to many other places where the sort of attractions we get for free in STL cost big $$$$ (and the attractions are not as good). How much does corporate sponsorship help to keep our admission fees low?
Without millions of dollars in corporate support, the Forest Park we enjoy today would only be a dream, and the park’s infrastructure would still be crumbling.
RB
[REPLY – As I said before corporate donors are needed and have been a longstanding part of our history. But must their name be slapped on everything today. Pretty soon they’ll be naming trash cans and urinals. I think the big corporate donors help mostly with capital improvements – not operating funds. – Steve]