Saturday, October 27, 2007

Daley Center Plaza



The Daley Plaza is the courtyard adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Center, which is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois. The plaza serves more than 10,000 people a day..





The main building [Daley Center] behind the Picasso sculpture, was designed in the international architectural style by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1965. At the time it was the tallest building in Chicago .

Some outstanding art pieces are:
Untitled [Known as Picasso] - by Pablo Picasso
The Eternal Flame Memorial
The Daley Plaza fountain
 "Under the Picasso", features lunchtime performances, ethnic festivals, holiday celebrations, farmers markets and more..
 



 
The marker reads..
Chicago Landmark..
Daley Center..
C.F.Murphy Associates, architect..
Pablo Picasso, sculptor..
1965, 1967 [Chicago Picasso]
This building is an exceptional example of the International Style and was Chicago's first major public building to be disigned in a modern, rather than historically-derived style. Innovative for its time are the building's eighty-seven foot spans of steel framing, it's exceptional internal spatial flexibility, and the first-ever use of self-weathering Cor-Ten steel as an exterior "skin" for a skyscraper. The monumental sculpture on the building's plaza, also fabricated of Cor-Ten steel, was designed by Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Designated on November 6, 2002..
Richard M. Daley, Mayor
Commission on Chicago Landmarks..
 



Eternal Flame Memorial..
Construction finish: 1972
It was dedicated on August 22, 1972. The eternal flame is Chicago's first memorial to honor the dead from four wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Eternal Flame Memorial at Daley Plaza is a granite slab bearing a bronze circular disk containing a natural gas flame that burns perpetually. The inscription reads as follows: Eternal flame in memory of the men and women who have served in our armed forces. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves and Merchant Marines. City officials created the Eternal Flame in response to veterans organization leaders' pleas for a memorial that would serve as a monument to deceased service personnel. The flame which burns continuously was on August 22, 1972 by Albina Nance, who was then President of the Illinois Gold Star Mothers, an organization of the mothers of fallen service members.
# For more, click here..






The Daley Plaza Fountain ...



Untitled [called The Picasso] - By Pablo Picasso..
Unveiled in 1967 ..

 
Map for visually impared...
 


During holiday time there is a wonderful Christmas Market in the Daley Plaza .

The main building [Daley Center] behind the Picasso sculpture, was designed in the international architectural style by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1965. At the time it was the tallest building in Chicago ...

REALTED LINKS..
The Daley Plaza: click here..
Untitled [Known as Picasso] - by Pablo Picasso click here..
Eternal Flame Memorial.. click here..
Daley Plaza: Fountain click here..
Map for visually impaired.. click here..
Maquette for Picasso's Chicago [Art Institute of Chicago]..

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois and is considered one of Chicago’s architectural highlights.

Bustling throughout the year, this recently renovated downtown public space is a civic-event hot spot. Each day it serves more than 10,000 people taking lunch breaks by the fountain, attending concerts under the Picasso sculpture, or wandering through one of many holiday markets. During the winter, this is where the city’s huge Christmas tree stands.

The 31-story office building behind the plaza was briefly the tallest building in Chicago and today is the tallest flat-roofed building in the world with fewer then 40 stories.

The incandescent bulbs used in the famed plaza’s in-ground fountain had numerous failures during the year and maintenance was an issue. After replacing two with LEDtronics PAR36 floodlight lamps for yearlong testing, the Public Building Commission of Chicago was extremely satisfied with the LED bulbs. In May 2008, the agency replaced the rest of the incandescent bulbs with 108 LEDtronics lamps, and the two initial LED bulbs are still in use with no problems reported.


Product used was of type: Cool White LED PAR36 Spotlight, 15° Beam - PAR-36-XCW-120AN
http://www.ledtronics.com/pages/applications/chicago-plaza.htm