Millennium Park Opening to be July 16-18: Press Release
Jun 17, 2004, 11:03 am
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Millennium Park Opening to be July 16-18: Press Release
MAYOR DALEY ANNOUNCES MILLENNIUM PARK GRAND OPENING JULY 16-18;"EMBRACE ART" AND SUMMER FESTIVALS EXPECTED TO ATTRACT MILLIONS
Mayor Richard M. Daley today invited Chicagoans and visitors alike to celebrate the opening of the new Millennium Park with a three-day festival of free concerts, interactive activities, family entertainment, tours and more from July 16 to 18, 2004.
The Grand Opening will combine with a summer-long event called "Embrace Art in Chicago" and the city's regular summer festivals to make this the most exciting summer in Chicago's history, Daley said.
The Millennium Park Grand Opening events will spotlight Millennium Park as a showplace for world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design, and showcase Chicago as one of the most culturally sophisticated and diverse cities in the world.
The events will be presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Mayor's Office of Special Events and the Chicago Park District and underwritten by Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The Grand Opening will kick off Friday, July 16, with a world premiere concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion that will feature a composition by the American composer, John Corigliano, commissioned for the occasion.
Other weekend events include:
* a sunrise workout featuring tai chi and yoga on the Great Lawn;
* a parade featuring performing groups from neighborhoods throughout the city;
* a large-scale illumination installation by Redmoon Theater;
* "Reflecting Chicago," a concert showcasing Chicago's diverse music scene;
* late-night music and dancing;
* a three-ring circus and workshops;
* tours led by Chicago Architecture Foundation docents departing every 30 minutes from locations throughout the park.
"We have put together a series of events that's as exciting and distinctive as the park, itself," said Daley. "Millennium Park is a monumental achievement by the City and its philanthropic community. It is much more than a park; it is a showcase for the visual and performing arts and a tribute to the vitality and creativity of our city."
Bank One and JPMorgan Chase, which plan to merge later this year, each made grants to underwrite all costs of the events.
Daley noted that the Millennium Park Grand Opening is a major highlight of Embrace Art in Chicago: Summer 2004, the citywide initiative that celebrates the city's diverse visual arts offerings and runs May 7 through September 30, 2004.
The Embrace Art exhibits include large-scale photographs of families from around the world; bird houses designed by artists and architects; Mickey Mouse statues on State Street; and artistic gardens in 24 neighborhood parks across the city.
The annual summer festivals include the Chicago Architecture Foundation's "Great Chicago Places and Spaces" tour, May 21-23; the Chicago Gospel Music Festival, June 4-6; the Chicago Blues Festival, June 10-13; the Grant Park Music Festival, June 23-August 29; Taste of Chicago, June 25-July 4; the Chicago Country Music Festival, June 26-27; the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival, July 13-August 24; Venetian Night, July 31; the Chicago Air and Water Show, August 21-22; the Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival, August 28-29; the Chicago Jazz Festival, September 2-5; and the Chicago Celtic Festival, September 18-19.
An international destination that will showcase the city of Chicago to the world, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park is located in downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe streets. Its centerpiece will be the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States. The park will also be home to one of the world's largest outdoor sculptures by the British artist Anish Kapoor; the tradition-setting Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, and Robert Israel; and the Crown Fountain designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
A calendar of Grand Opening events is attached. For more information about the Millennium Park Grand Opening events, visit http://www.millenniumpark.org or call 312.742.1168
To reserve hotel accommodations at special rates and hospitality packages, and to learn more about the exciting events of Embrace Art in Chicago call toll free, 1.877.chicago (1.877.244.2246) or visit http://www.877Chicago.com For those calling from outside the United States, Mexico and Canada, please call 1.312.201.8847 The TTY toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1.866.710.0294
Mayor Richard M. Daley today invited Chicagoans and visitors alike to celebrate the opening of the new Millennium Park with a three-day festival of free concerts, interactive activities, family entertainment, tours and more from July 16 to 18, 2004.
The Grand Opening will combine with a summer-long event called "Embrace Art in Chicago" and the city's regular summer festivals to make this the most exciting summer in Chicago's history, Daley said.
The Millennium Park Grand Opening events will spotlight Millennium Park as a showplace for world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design, and showcase Chicago as one of the most culturally sophisticated and diverse cities in the world.
The events will be presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Mayor's Office of Special Events and the Chicago Park District and underwritten by Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The Grand Opening will kick off Friday, July 16, with a world premiere concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion that will feature a composition by the American composer, John Corigliano, commissioned for the occasion.
Other weekend events include:
* a sunrise workout featuring tai chi and yoga on the Great Lawn;
* a parade featuring performing groups from neighborhoods throughout the city;
* a large-scale illumination installation by Redmoon Theater;
* "Reflecting Chicago," a concert showcasing Chicago's diverse music scene;
* late-night music and dancing;
* a three-ring circus and workshops;
* tours led by Chicago Architecture Foundation docents departing every 30 minutes from locations throughout the park.
"We have put together a series of events that's as exciting and distinctive as the park, itself," said Daley. "Millennium Park is a monumental achievement by the City and its philanthropic community. It is much more than a park; it is a showcase for the visual and performing arts and a tribute to the vitality and creativity of our city."
Bank One and JPMorgan Chase, which plan to merge later this year, each made grants to underwrite all costs of the events.
Daley noted that the Millennium Park Grand Opening is a major highlight of Embrace Art in Chicago: Summer 2004, the citywide initiative that celebrates the city's diverse visual arts offerings and runs May 7 through September 30, 2004.
The Embrace Art exhibits include large-scale photographs of families from around the world; bird houses designed by artists and architects; Mickey Mouse statues on State Street; and artistic gardens in 24 neighborhood parks across the city.
The annual summer festivals include the Chicago Architecture Foundation's "Great Chicago Places and Spaces" tour, May 21-23; the Chicago Gospel Music Festival, June 4-6; the Chicago Blues Festival, June 10-13; the Grant Park Music Festival, June 23-August 29; Taste of Chicago, June 25-July 4; the Chicago Country Music Festival, June 26-27; the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival, July 13-August 24; Venetian Night, July 31; the Chicago Air and Water Show, August 21-22; the Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival, August 28-29; the Chicago Jazz Festival, September 2-5; and the Chicago Celtic Festival, September 18-19.
An international destination that will showcase the city of Chicago to the world, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park is located in downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe streets. Its centerpiece will be the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States. The park will also be home to one of the world's largest outdoor sculptures by the British artist Anish Kapoor; the tradition-setting Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, and Robert Israel; and the Crown Fountain designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
A calendar of Grand Opening events is attached. For more information about the Millennium Park Grand Opening events, visit http://www.millenniumpark.org or call 312.742.1168
To reserve hotel accommodations at special rates and hospitality packages, and to learn more about the exciting events of Embrace Art in Chicago call toll free, 1.877.chicago (1.877.244.2246) or visit http://www.877Chicago.com For those calling from outside the United States, Mexico and Canada, please call 1.312.201.8847 The TTY toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1.866.710.0294
Jul 13, 2004, 9:22 pm
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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/national/13park.html
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July 13, 2004
LETTER FROM CHICAGO
A Prized Project, a Mayor and Persistent Criticism
By STEPHEN KINZER
CHICAGO
Even in a city with a worldwide reputation for innovative urban design, the opening this month of a spectacular new park and performance center near Lake Michigan promises to be a huge event.
The site, Millennium Park, is opening four years late and at three times the original budget, but few here are complaining. The park boasts an outdoor music pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, complete with his signature swirls of shiny metal; an underground theater with 1,500 seats; elaborate gardens with 250 varieties of plants; and other attractions that include an ice skating rink and a shower room for bicyclists.
This will not be a park with large meadows, groves or other spaces for quiet contemplation. Among its major features are two extraordinary art objects. One is a 110-ton polished-steel sculpture by the British artist Anish Kapoor. The other, by the Spaniard Jaume Plensa, will be centered on two 50-foot-high towers onto which close-up photographs that have been taken of Chicagoans will be projected while water streams over them.
This project is a milestone for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has made the physical reconstruction of Chicago a priority. The 24.5 acres on which Millennium Park has arisen were for years an unsightly railroad yard. Generations of city planners wrestled with how to turn it into a civic space. Mr. Daley embraced this challenge, and despite mounting costs and missed deadlines, he insisted that when Millennium Park was completed, the city would have a new downtown treasure.
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July 13, 2004
LETTER FROM CHICAGO
A Prized Project, a Mayor and Persistent Criticism
By STEPHEN KINZER
CHICAGO
Even in a city with a worldwide reputation for innovative urban design, the opening this month of a spectacular new park and performance center near Lake Michigan promises to be a huge event.
The site, Millennium Park, is opening four years late and at three times the original budget, but few here are complaining. The park boasts an outdoor music pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, complete with his signature swirls of shiny metal; an underground theater with 1,500 seats; elaborate gardens with 250 varieties of plants; and other attractions that include an ice skating rink and a shower room for bicyclists.
This will not be a park with large meadows, groves or other spaces for quiet contemplation. Among its major features are two extraordinary art objects. One is a 110-ton polished-steel sculpture by the British artist Anish Kapoor. The other, by the Spaniard Jaume Plensa, will be centered on two 50-foot-high towers onto which close-up photographs that have been taken of Chicagoans will be projected while water streams over them.
This project is a milestone for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has made the physical reconstruction of Chicago a priority. The 24.5 acres on which Millennium Park has arisen were for years an unsightly railroad yard. Generations of city planners wrestled with how to turn it into a civic space. Mr. Daley embraced this challenge, and despite mounting costs and missed deadlines, he insisted that when Millennium Park was completed, the city would have a new downtown treasure.
Jul 15, 2004, 9:32 am
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The Pritzker Pavillion and the curvy bridge are really cool looking. I won't be able to go this weekend but I look forward to checking them out soon. I remember when the park was first proposed, I thought, "don't we already have enough park space in this area. But now that it's done, it's definitely a great addition to the city. I kind of feel the same way about Meig's Field right now--do we really need more park space? Shouldn't we have kept the airport. Maybe I will change my mind on that once that park is done too.
Jul 16, 2004, 10:14 am
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What a wonderful addition to the city. I was at a fundraiser last evening at Preston Bradley Hall of the Culturual Center, which overlooks the Park. The "Bean" (Cloud Gate) is spectacular. I kept looking over there as the sun got lower to watch the reflection of the skyline.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...epagenews2-utl
The Crown Fountain will also be a huge attraction.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...epagenews2-utl
The Crown Fountain will also be a huge attraction.
Jul 17, 2004, 8:47 am
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I was at the opening night last evening. This place should immediately be the number 1 tourist attaction in the city - particularly since it's all free. The Frank Gehry designd BP Bridge (his first) is a masterpiece, snaking over and along Columbus Drive, bringing visitors from Grant Park into the Millenium, providing one photo op after another. A big crowd favorite was the Crown Fountain, which is two towers facing each other, which alternate random video images of Chicagoans of all ages and ethnic groups smiling, meditating and looking serious. After 13 minutes, their lips pucker and spew water onto the 1/8 in granite surface below, which people can walk on. Equaly popular was "The Bean/"
Jul 19, 2004, 10:47 pm
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I agree completely with the previous poster. Millennium Park was an unexpected highlight of our weekend visit. We actualy went three times in two days. I can't imagine anyone ever again visiting the city without seeing it. This amazing and revolutionary urban space is a tour de force of the highest magnitude. ^ ^
Jul 28, 2005, 1:33 pm
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When Millennium Park opened last year, critics said it was the European-style open space the city needed. Now the area gets even more Parisian. The open-air MARKETS AT LAKESHORE EAST bring fresh produce, cheese and flowers downtown each Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The high-end farmers market is in the six-acre park inside the residential development, behind the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building. Northeast of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street, 312-440-8500, ext. 380,
http://www.lakeshoreeast.com
http://www.lakeshoreeast.com