Museum Campus - Public Art..

The Museum Campus ...
Chicago's Museum Campus connects three world-class museums ..
[I] The Field Museum of Natural History,
[II] The John G.Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium, and ..
[III] The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum ...
making it the largest museum campus in the world ... spread over an area of 57-acre .. The Museum Campus opened in 1998 when the the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive were moved west of Soldier Field following the route of the expressway's southbound lanes. By removing the roadway which bisected the area, the Museum Campus was transformed into a green space ... amd made extremely pedestrian friendly with jogging paths and walkways ...

Each of these museums are treasure trove of information and extremely popular among the residents as well as the tourists ... But here I am trying to enlist the Public Art in the campus..


[I] The Field Museum of Natural History ...
It originally opened in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago .. In 1905, the museum's name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor the museum's first major benefactor, Marshall Field. . In 1921, the museum moved from its original location to its present site on Chicago Park District property near downtown, where it is part of the lakefront Museum Campus ...

Public Art in the Field Museum Campus are:
# Replica of colossal Olmec Head #8 ... click here ...
# Big Beaver totem .. click here ...
# What you see ... click here ..



# Replica of colossal Olmec Head #8 ...
Head of Veracruz leader, Ignacio Perez Solano..
Description: Stone, H 7 ft. 3 in, 1700 pound ..
Location: The Field Museum lawn ..

For more on the ... Olmec Head .. click here ...



# Big Beaver Totem ..
Carver: Norman Tait ..
Installed: 1982...
Big Beaver is a contemporary totem pole in the traditional mode, commissioned to commemorate the opening of The Field Museum’s hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples.

For more on the totem "Big Beaver".. click here ...



# What you see ...
For more images .. click here ...



[II] The John G.Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium ..
This indoor public aquarium opened on May 30, 1930. It is one of the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000,000 l) of water. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection ..



# Man with Fish ...
I'm not sure what it's called and have no further information on this sculpture ...


[III] The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum ...
Public Art in the Planetarium Campus includes:
# Sundial "Man Enters the Cosmos" .. click here ..
# Monument of Nicholas Copernicus .. click here ..
# America's Courtyard ... click here ..



# Sundial ... Man Enters the Cosmos ..
Sculptor: Sir Henry Moore
Installed: 1980
Description: Bronze, H 13 ft.
Location: Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Entry Plaza Solidarity (Achsah Bond) Dr .. Museum Campus ...

For more on the "Sundial" .. click here ...



# Monument of Nicholas Copernicus ...
Sculptor: Bertel Thorvaldsen ..
Installed: 1973
Description: Bronze, H 8.5 ft.
Gift of the Copernicus Foundation and the Polish-American Congress to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Copernicus ..
Location: Solidarity (Achsah Bond) Dr. ... Museum Campus ..

For more on the "Monument of Nicholas Copernicus" .. click here ...



# America's Courtyard ...
Artist: Denise Milan and Ary Perez
Description: granite and marble block installation,
56 pieces granite and 4 pieces marble ...
Location: Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum ..

For more on America's Courtyard ... click here ..


The museum campus is a great place to be, even if one doesnt visit any of the museums ... It has beautiful skyline view ... and many interesting sculptures like:
# Three forms for Chicago ... click here ...
# Monuments on the Solidaity Drive ...
# Children's Garden..



# Spheres Turn, Pyramids Rise, Cubes Stay Still ..
Three forms for Chicago ...
Artist: David Nash ..
Loan of the artist to the City of Chicago Public Art Collection ..
Installed: 2000
Location: Museum Campus, northwest side near Lake Shoredrive ...

For more on Three Forms for Chicago .. click here ...



# Monuments on the Solidarity Drive ...
Sculptures of Nicolaus Copernicus, Karel Havlicek and Thaddeus Kosciuzsko on the Solidarity Drive ...

For more on Solidarity Drive monuments .. click here ...



# Children's Garden ...
Just south of the Field Museum is this Children's park with features like ... Water Earth, Rock Earth, Climbing Earth and Geography Earth ..

For more of Children's Garden .. click here ...



# Balbo Munument ...
Balbo was a fascist and the monument was a gift from Mussolini to the people of Chicago for their generosity in naming a street in honor of Balbo after the 1933 worlds fair held at Chicago.

For more on the Bablbo Munument ... click here ...



# The Gold Star Families Memorial and Park ...
is located along Lake Michigan on the east side of Soldier Field. It is nearly five acres extending from McFetridge Drive on the North to Waldron Drive on the South. The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation ensured that the design of the park would be as exceptional as the men and women it honors ..

For more on the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park ... click here ...