CHICAGO: Marilyn, Millennium Park, and the Art Institute—A Stroll Down Michigan Avenue

One tower of the Crown Fountain, Millennium Park

Recently, I was in Chicago for a conference and had an hour or so on the last afternoon to stroll down Michigan Avenue from my hotel on Wacker Drive to Millennium Park and the Chicago Art Institute about a half-mile away.

25-foot Marilyn Monroe Statue

My first stop was across the bridge over Chicago River.  I wanted to take a closer look at the giant Marilyn Monroe statue mounted in the plaza near the Chicago Tribune building on Chicago’s Magnificent mile.  Sculpted in her iconic pose with skirts flying, she dwarfed the people below.  I didn’t realize that this was a last chance to see the statue in Chicago.  The 25-foot-tall statue of the actress is slated to leave its spot along Michigan Avenue on May 7th and go to Palms Springs, California. The bronze and stainless steel sculpture, created by artist Seward Johnson, depicts Monroe in her famous pose from the film “The Seven Year Itch.” In the film, a draft catches Monroe’s dress as she passes over a subway grate.  Apparently, as soon as the sculpture was unveiled last July, people began positioning themselves under the movie star’s dress to catch a subway-level view and snap pictures.

Every Tree Counts!

I then turned back across the river and headed south past several blocks of shops and restaurants before arriving at Millennium Park.  It was spring, and rows of blooming tulips lined planters along the way.  It also sprinkled off and on so I was glad I had my raincoat. The first thing I noticed when I got to the park, besides the fact that it was an island of green amidst neighboring skyscrapers, was that the trees all had large green tags tied around their trunks, informing us of their monetary value to the community. In celebration of Arbor Day in 2011, the Morton Arboretum tagged hundreds of trees in Illinois with the dollar amount each tree will give back to the community in environmental and socio-economic benefits over the next 15 years. Trees absorb air pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, through the leaves and intercept particulate matter like dust, ash and smoke. They also lower air temperature, reducing the production of ozone. 

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park

Peeking through the trees at the back of the park I could see what looked like large metallic sails silhouetted against the sky.  As I walked closer I saw that they formed the roof of an outdoor amphitheater. Designed by Frank Gehry, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is said to be the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States.  It was empty on a weekday afternoon, but I could imagine it filled with people.

Reflected in the Cloud Sculpture

Walking back toward the street I came upon an elevated plaza in the center of the park on which a shiny giant amoeba shaped structure sat, reflecting the surrounding skyline and all the passersby, including me.  The curved surface made it function like a huge fun-house mirror.  The cloud sculpture was designed by artist Anish Kapoor as an interactive piece and it was impossible to not be drawn to it and try to take a picture of myself reflected on its surface.

Caroline in Millennium Park

Every turn revealed a new sculptural surprise.  In a small garden plaza stood three open ball shaped structures in blue, yellow, and white created by Mexican artist Yvonne Domenge. Below the garden was the Crown Fountain, two 50-foot glass block towers of flowing water that project video images of 1,000 different Chicagians onto their surfaces.  Created by artist Jaume Plensa the facing images appear to look at one another and interact as their expressions subtly change and then disappear, or abruptly squirt water out of their mouths, before morphing into a new face. Children were having fun splashing in the water that collected at the base of the towers.

Art Institute of Chicago

Finally, I arrived at the Art Institute with its familiar lions flanking the entrance. I have fond memories of visits to the Art Institute when I came to Chicago as child with my family on visits to my grandmother and later when I was in college in Iowa and rode to Chicago on the train.  I didn’t have time to see any of the current exhibits on this trip, but browsed in the wonderful museum gift shop.  I’ll have to return to Chicago on a longer trip and do all the things that I missed this time.