Millennium Park (Chicago, IL)

Chicago – the Midwest’s very own New York City! Well…kind of. Chicago is massive and holds a lot of people like New York City, but Chicago has its own unique feel that’s unlike anywhere else. I love Chicago – with its Lake Michigan, iconic neighborhoods, unique architecture, Chicago-style hotdogs (my dad’s favorite – haha!), and my favorite, deep-dish pizza. Yum!!

When visiting Chicago, Millennium Park is a great place to check out as it has a little bit of everything including museums, theaters, gardens (yes gardens in the city!), free public events, public art, skating rinks, rock climbing, and plenty of green space. Come along as I show all that Millennium Park has to offer!

Millennium Park is at the center of the Chicago experience! Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, Millennium Park is home to the Cloud Gate Statue (better known as The Chicago Bean), Jay Pritzker Pavilion & The Great Lawn, Lurie Garden, Chicago Cultural Center, Crown Fountain, Maggie Daley Park, McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink, Boeing Galleries, Harris Theater, and Nichols Bridgeway.

Cloud Gate Statue – The Chicago Bean

Designed by British artist, Anish Kapoor, The Chicago Bean is Kapoor’s first public outdoor work installed in the United States. It was created by putting together 168 massive steel plates and welding them shut to create a seamless finish. The interior is made up of two large metal rings that connect by a framework, similar to what you might see on a bridge. It allows the weight of the sculpture to be on the two end points, which creates the “bean shape.” In addition, the Chicago Bean’s stainless-steel exterior is connected to the frame with flexible connectors. This allows the plates to expand and contract depending on weather changes.

The 110-ton oval-shaped sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless-steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a “gate” to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high.

According to Localize, The Chicago Bean was first unveiled in 2004 at the opening of Millennium Park. However, the sculpture was not completely finished until 2006. This surprises me as it seems like Millennium Park and The Chicago Bean have been around forever!

Jay Pritzker Pavilion & The Great Lawn

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion itself offers an incredibly unique design, brought together by architect Frank Gehry. The Amphitheatre has a capacity of 11,000, offering a great atmosphere when seeing live shows! The pavilion has a state-of-the-art sound system designed to mimic the acoustics of an indoor theatre. Grab a seat or sprawl out on the Great Lawn with a picnic as you take in Millennium Park’s Summer Music and Summer Film Series, and a host of annual festivals, including the Grant Park Music Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the World Music Festival.

Lurie Garden

Lurie Garden was designed by landscape architects, Gustafson Guthrie Nichols, and perennial planting design by world-renowned artist Piet Oudolf. Lurie Garden was designed to combine naturalistic plantings and ecologically sensitive maintenance practices to create an urban oasis for city dwellers and wildlife alike. Lurie Garden is a leader in cutting-edge design, responsible gardening practices, dynamic public programming in an urban environment, and provides a healthy habitat for a wide variety of plants and wildlife. The garden offers a four-season experience.

Chicago Cultural Center

The Chicago Cultural Center is one of the city’s most popular attractions and the cultural heart of the downtown Loop neighborhood. Taking up an entire city block, the stunning landmark building is home to the world’s largest Tiffany-stained glass dome and presents more than 700 humanities programs a year — and many of them are free and open to the public. Spend hours checking out free music and art, shop local artisans, marvel at stunning architecture, and get to know some local history.

Crown Fountain

The Crown Fountain was designed by Spanish artist, Jaume Plensa. The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool that project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens. Plensa has faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and has water flow through an outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa’s tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents. The fountain’s water features operate during the year between mid-spring and mid-fall, while the images remain on view year-round.

Maggie Daley Park

Maggie Daley Park is a 20-acre park located on the spot of the former Daley Bicentennial Plaza that connects to Millennium Park via the BP Pedestrian Bridge. Maggie C. Daley (1943 – 2011) is Chicago’s longtime first lady, who was deeply committed to improving the lives of children and making the city culturally rich for all of its citizens.

Today, Maggie Daley Park is a recreation center offering a Play Garden, Climbing Wall, City Mini Golf, Picnic Groves, Ice skating Ribbon, Tennis Courts, and Rollerblades, Micro Scooters & Bungee! Oh for fun! 😊The fieldhouse, which was redesigned in 2014, is the central hub for the indoor and outdoor programming of the park throughout the seasons. The park’s core programs, such as day camp, play school and fitness classes are offered at this location along with additional program activities that support the new park features, including the climbing wall and skating rentals.

McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink

During the winter season (November through March), McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink becomes one of Chicago’s largest outdoor ice-skating rinks drawing more than 100,000 skaters annually. Admission is free (excluding skate rentals) and open to the public, but online reservation tickets are required. Check out Millennium Park Foundation – Ice Skating for further information on reserving tickets, skate rentals, and ice-skating lessons offered each weekend. Enjoy some snacks and hot drinks that are available from Momentum Coffee! During the summer season, the Ice Rink is converted into an outdoor dining venue on Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison Streets.

Boeing Galleries

Millennium Park Foundation commissioned Edra Soto and Christine Tarkowski to create new respective works in 2019 for the Boeing Galleries and allowed these works to be responsive to the greater space of Millennium Park. While each artist met the original challenge, they also incorporated their own historical and cultural influences into their respective works. Located on both the north and south ends of Millennium Park, the Boeing Galleries house temporary modern and contemporary art exhibitions where visitors can directly experience the work and expressions of current artists. The galleries are free and open to the public, underwriting the cost of exhibition curation and management is by Millennium Park Foundation using funds from private donors.

Harris Theater

The Harris Theater’s mission is to be Chicago’s home for music and dance, a vision which was set in motion by some of the city’s boldest women over forty years ago. Today, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance is led by Lori Dimun and a dedicated board and staff, who’s vision for the Theater is to be a home for music and dance, where everyone feels welcome and can see themselves reflected on stage.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance resides on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox have also called this area home. The region has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban American Indian communities in the United States resides in Chicago, and members of this community continue to contribute to the life and culture of this city.

Nichols Bridgeway

The Nichols Bridgeway, designed by architect Renzo Piano, was built in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and Millennium Park Foundation. It is a 620-foot pedestrian bridge that gradually inclines over Lurie Garden, joining the southwest corner of Millennium Park’s Great Lawn with the third floor of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing. The base of Nichols Bridgeway is constructed of coated structural steel overlaid with aluminum flooring and attached to 4-foot-tall steel railings that incorporates anti-slip walkways and heating elements to prevent ice formation, making it accessible to all types of pedestrians. From up above, Nichols Bridgeway has incomparable views of Michigan Avenue, the lakefront, and Millennium Park. I actually came upon this bridge by chance, and absolutely had to stop and get some pictures of the view!

There is so much to see in Millennium Park! The next time you visit Chicago I hope you enjoy checking out these amazing places!