Millennium Park and Buckingham Fountain - August 16 2009

On Sunday August 16, I went down to Millennium Park in the evening to walk around and look at two new temporary pavillions that have been installed to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago.


This is Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean." It's a 33 foot tall sculpture, weighing in at 110 tons. It's made of stainless steel, pristinely polished, causing it to be completely seamless.


This is the view through the roof of one of the temporary Burnham pavillions. This one is designed by Zaha Hadid, of London. It's constructed of a metal frame and covered in a perfectly sewn fabric cover with clear vinyl panels on top thru which you can see part of the city skyline.



The pavillion, designed by Zaha Hadid. Is it a cocoon, or a maggot, or a shell?



Portion of the Chicago skyline as seen through some of the greenery growing in the garden at the park.

The Frank Gehry designed Pritzker pavillion. The metal webbing holds speakers. Guests on the lawn can enjoy the music just as well as those in the front row.

A dinosaur overlooking the skyline.

Buckingham Fountain. You may recall this as the fountain seen in the opening credits of "Married With Children." The water spout shoots 150 feet in the air.

The second of the temporary Burnham Pavillions, this one was designed by Ben van Berkel of Amsterdam

The Bean, at night, wearing the reflection of the Chicago skyline.

I love my city!