Public Art in Chicago

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Chicago South - Bronzeville / Meridian VII (2002) - By Ed McCullough

Meridian VII - by Ed McCullough

Installed: 2002

Location: Chicago Police HQ Building,

35th Street and Michigan Avenue

Commissioned by City of Chicago Percent for Art program.

Plazas in the Loop, Chicago

PLAZAS IN THE LOOP..
# The Daley Plaza .. click here
# The Federal Plaza
# Exelon Plaza..
# One Financial Place Plaza

The Daley Center Plaza ...
Richard J. Daley Civic Center consists mostly of courtrooms and county offices. The Cook County Law Library and County Sheriff's office also reside here.

The Daley Center Plaza is a gathering place for events, all year round .... It serves more than 10,000 people a day ... In winter, the Chicago city Christmas tree is raised in this square, as seen in the image ... The plaza also has some important pieces of public art like ...
# The Picasso .. click here ...
# The Eternal Flame .. click here ..
# The Fountain .. click here ..

The Federal Plaza ...
It's surrounded by three Federal Center buildings: the Everett McKinley Dirksen Building, the John C. Kluczynski Building, and the Loop Post Office ... All the buildings are designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ... All these structures have Mies characteristic style of steel frame and curtain walls ... The Post Office, a unitary space with a central core, is typical of Mies’s reductivist concept of the single-story pavilion.

The Federal plaza has the famous sculpture ..
# The Flamingo - by Alexander Calder .. click here ...

The Exelon Plaza, also known as the Chase Tower Plaza, is one of the most beautiful public squares in the Loop.
# Exelon Plaza...
# The mosaic sculpture "Four Seasons" - by Marc Chagall ... click here ..
# The Clock .. click here ..
# The Fountain ... click here ..

One Financial Place Plaza..
# San Marco-II, by Ludovico De Luigi..

Friday, November 21, 2008

Chicago South - Bronzeville / Haymarket Riot Monument - by John Gelert

Haymarket Riot Monument - by John Gelert

Haymarket Riot Monument - by John Gelert

Location: Courtyard of Chicago Police Training Center

Location: 1300 W Jackson Blvd

At the base is the inscription..

In the name of the people of Illinois I command peace.

Chicago - Near North / Pioneer Court / Site of Point Du Sable House ...

Many bronze plaques can be seen at the 401 N. Michigan Avenue Plaza [formerly known as the Equitable Building Plaza], also known as the Pioneer Court. These plaques mark the pioneers of Chicago's birth, growth and greatness..

As one of the bronze plaque reads ... Point Du Sable House ...
"Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite has been dedicated a National Historic Landmark. This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America
1977, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior"..

Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable [1745 -1818] ... popularly known as "The Father of Chicago", was the first known settler in the area which is now Chicago, Illinois. Du Sable was recognized by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago as the Founder of Chicago on October 26, 1968..

Chicago Riverwalk / Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium

Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium

Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium

by the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1852

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's

WASTEWATER SYSTEM

One of the finest example of how civil engineering ingenuity

shaped the development of society's quality of life in the 20th century "..

Designated: Sep 19, 2001

Chicago Remembers /Vietnam Veterns Memorial

Chicago Remembers Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Chicago Remembers Memorial is dedicated to all evterans of the armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. It features the names of 2,936 Illinois veterans who died in the conflict.

Memorial was dedicated on Nov 11, 2005

and is a tribute to all veterans who served in the Vietnam War

Location: Wacker Drive at Wabash, Chicago, IL 60601

Temporary Exhibit / Chicago - Pioneer Court / King Lear - by J. Seward Johnson

King Lear [20-foot tall]

Sculptor: J. Seward Johnson

Location: Pioneer Court

Installed: May, 2008

This sculpture "King Lear", has been removed now and replaced by another sculpture by the same artist Steward Johnson, named "God Bless America", which is based on the famous painting by Grant Wood, "American Gothic"...

Michigan Avenue Bridge: sculptures and markers..

The Michigan Avenue bridge, a designated Chicago Landmark, has many interesting features. Here the focus is on the sculptures and markers on the bridge that spells it's history and engineering feats ..

Chicago Landmark..
The Michigan Avenue bridge and the Wacker Drive Esplanade was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1991 ...
Conceived as part of Daniel Burhnam's 1900 plan of Chicago the Michigan Avenue Bridge and the wacker Drive were designed to improve transportation and to enhance Chicago's riverfront. The opening of the bridge in 1920, followed by the esplanade in 1926 and the monumental sculptures in 1928 provided an impressive gateway to North Michigan Avenue and led to its development of city's premier throughfares.
# For more.. click here..

Most famous is the relief sculptures named..
Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discoverers..
By James Earle Fraser and Henry Hering..
Completed: 1928
Description: Carved limestone
Each bridge tower is adorned with a bas relief sculpture commemorating important events in Chicago history..
Southwest Tower: Defence - By Henry Hering
Southeast Tower: Regeneration - By Henry Hering
Northwest Tower: Pioneers - By James Earle Fraser
Northeast Tower: Discoverers - By James Earle Fraser
# For more.. click here..

A plaque in honor of Louis Jolliet & Pere Jacques Marquette..
the first white men to pass through the Chicago River in 1673..
Location: Northeast corner, Michigan Avenue bridge..
# For more .. click here..

A plaque in honor of La Salle & Henry De Tonti..
who passed through the Chicago River on their way to the Mississipp in 1681..
Location: Southwest corner, Michigan Avenue bridge..
# For more.. click here..

Celebrating the date of bridge opening..
on May 14th, 1920..
Location: Southeast corner and Northwest corner, Michigan Avenue bridge..
# For more.. click here..

The Chicago River..
The marker spells out the importance of Chicago River in the early development of the city..
Location: Southwest corner, Michigan Avenue bridge..
From 1673, commerce and civilization followed the natural waterway from the seaboard to the heart of the continent.
The statergic importance of the early American development of the junction of the Chicago River and the Lake Michigan led to the establishment here of Fort Dearborn and to the founding of the City of Chicago...
# For more.. click here

Markers along the Wacker Drive..
The granite squares are engraved with the names of individuals and businesses who have sponsored the planting of a tree. The trees are planted as part of The Chicago Gateway Green Committee's efforts to a greener Chicago Metropolitan Area..
# For more.. click here..

Site of Fort Dearborn...
Address: Intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive
Fort Dearborn: Year built: 1803, destroyed: 1812 ...
Second fort erected on the same site: 1816, demolished 1856 ..
The site has been designated a Chicago Landmark on September 15, 1971 ..
# For more.. click here..

Bust of Pointe DuSable..
Sculptor: Erik Blome
Installed: 2009
Location: Pioneer Court..
To the north east end of the bridge is the bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable...
DuSable is popularly known as "The Father of Chicago", was the first known settler in the area which is now Chicago, Illinois. Du Sable was recognized by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago as the Founder of Chicago on October 26, 1968...
# For more.. click here..

Site of Pointe DuSable House..
The north-east of the Michigan Avenue bridge is the site of DuSable house, "Kinzie Mansion" [1784-1832], home of Pointe Du Saible, Le Mai, and John Kinzie. Chicago`s `First Civilian'. Here was born, in 1805, the city`s first white child, Ellen Marion Kinzie. The site has been declared a National Historic Landmark..
# For more.. click here..

Dont miss - the bridge tower top..
Looks like a Ram head..
Symbolic??
Any information is welcome..
I really am not aware if the Ram's head has any meaning..
Although symbolically, Ram's head is a symbol enery, power, vilatily..

For more on.. [click on the link]
# Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discoverers..
# Plaque in honor of Louis Jolliet & Pere Jacques Marquette.
# Plaque in honor of La Salle & Henry De Tonti..
# Celebrating the bridge opening....
# The importance of Chicago River in early Chicago development..
# Granite squares commemorating Chicago Gateway Green committee efforts..
# Site of Fort Dearborn...
# Bust of Pointe DuSable.. click here..
# Site of McKinzie Mansion...

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discoverers - by James Earle Fraser and Henry Hering

Defence - by Henry Hering / Southwest Tower

Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discoverers

- by James Earle Fraser and Henry Hering

1928 / Carved limestone

Location: Michigan Avenue Bridge

Michigan Avenue bridge marker - in honor of Jolliet and Marquette

Northeast corner of the bridge ...
The plaque reads ..
In honor of Louis Jolliet & Pere Jacques Marquette..
The first white men to pass through the Chicago River, September 1673.
This tablet is placed by the Illinois Society of the Colonial Dames of America ..
Under the auspices of the Chicago Historical Society, 1925 ...