Public Art in Chicago: Riverwalk Gateway

Riverwalk Gateway ... Artist: Ellen Lanyon

Architect: The trellised, cast-concrete walkway, is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Description: Ceramic mural tiles.

Location: Under Lakeshore Drive, south bank of Chicago River.

Ellen Lanyon's ceramic murals offers pedestrians a pictorial narrative of the city's history as it is entwined to the Chicago River. In 1998, the painter Ellen Lanyon won a competition to create ceramic murals for the two 127-foot-long walls which marks the Chicago Riverwalk Gateway.

There are in all 28 ceramic panels.. 14 on each side of the north and south walls.. Of these 14 panels on each side of the wall.. - 3 on each side [east and west side] of the wall are introductory... making for total 6 introductory panels on each side of the wall.. - 8 central panles which are narratives.. So of the total 28 panels.. - 12 are introductory.. - 16 are narratives.. "

The 16 full-scale narrative panels each document an episode in Chicago's history. Beginning on the west side of the walkway, the first panel presents the arrival of Europeans by canoe at the portage between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Black-and-white text, presenting information such as event descriptions and dates, appears in the borders of each section, helping to carry the story along.... The river remains the primary theme of the narrative because of its centrality to Chicago's development. Bridges and maps make frequent appearances in these murals, recording the changes in the city's landscape and the evolution of bridge designs to accommodate the city's expanding needs. Lanyon incorporates images of plants and wildlife in each piece, recalling motifs she has used throughout her career... "

First two images: Introductory panels. Bottom two images: Narrative panels.. For details of the north and south wall panels..