Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and inspired by the people of Chicago, The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection.
The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Plensa adapted this practice by having faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents.
The fountain, which anchors the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. The water is on from mid-spring through mid-fall each year (weather permitting,) while the images remain on year-round.
A fountain is the memory of nature, this marvelous sound of a little river in the mountains translated to the city. For me, a fountain doesn't mean a big jet of water. It means humidity, the origin of life.
-Jaume Plensa
Tags: Chicago The Bean The Cloud Gate sun park Milliennium art outdoor mercury cultural sky sunshine picnic music Illinois sunny reflections Anish Kapoor skyline concave chamber reflected perspectives Mellinnum elliptical forged stainless steeL' Jaume Plensa glass blocks gargoyles fountain faces mythological renowned
Last night while the Blackhawks were fighting to win the Stanley Cup, I ventured down to see the John Hancock building. It is a 100 floor building overlooking downtown Chicago. When I got there, I was told I could not use my tripod, so I put my camera on top of my camera bag and anchored it with the stretchy cords on my bag.
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot[3] (344 m) tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill,[3] with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan.[4] When the building topped out on May 6, 1968,[1] it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. It is currently the fourth-tallest building in Chicago and the sixth-tallest in the United States, after the Willis Tower, the Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower, the Trump Tower Chicago, and the Aon Center. When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,506 feet (459 m).[5] The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums and contains the third highest residence in the world, after the Trump Tower also in Chicago and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. [6] This skyscraper was named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a developer and original tenant of the building.
The 95th floor has long been home to a restaurant, the latest tenant being "The Signature Room on the 95th Floor." While patrons dine, they can look out at Chicago and Lake Michigan. The Hancock Center's observation deck facilities (called the Hancock Observatory) compete with the Willis Tower's Skydeck across town. The Hancock Center is in a commercial district, while the Willis Tower is in the financial district. The Hancock Center 94th floor observation deck displays exhibits about the city of Chicago. Maps explain the view in each direction and a special meshed-in area allows the visitors to feel the winds 1,030 feet (314 m) above ground level. The observation deck also features an audio guide narrated by actor David Schwimmer. The 44th-floor sky lobby features America's highest indoor swimming pool.
View On Black
Tags: John Hancock downtown Chicago Michigan night Big John Blackhawks Stanley Cup sundown observatory Michigan Avenue
Tags: Chicago The Bean The Cloud Gate sun park Milliennium art outdoor mercury cultural sky sunshine picnic music Illinois sunny reflections Anish Kapoor skyline concave chamber reflected perspectives Mellinnum elliptical forged stainless steeL' Jaume Plensa glass blocks gargoyles fountain faces mythological renowned
Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and inspired by the people of Chicago, The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection.
The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Plensa adapted this practice by having faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents.
The fountain, which anchors the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. The water is on from mid-spring through mid-fall each year (weather permitting,) while the images remain on year-round.
A fountain is the memory of nature, this marvelous sound of a little river in the mountains translated to the city. For me, a fountain doesn't mean a big jet of water. It means humidity, the origin of life.
-Jaume Plensa
Tags: Chicago The Bean The Cloud Gate sun park Milliennium art outdoor mercury cultural sky sunshine picnic music Illinois sunny reflections Anish Kapoor skyline concave chamber reflected perspectives Mellinnum elliptical forged stainless steeL' Jaume Plensa glass blocks gargoyles fountain faces mythological renowned
Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and inspired by the people of Chicago, The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection.
The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Plensa adapted this practice by having faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents.
The fountain, which anchors the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. The water is on from mid-spring through mid-fall each year (weather permitting,) while the images remain on year-round.
A fountain is the memory of nature, this marvelous sound of a little river in the mountains translated to the city. For me, a fountain doesn't mean a big jet of water. It means humidity, the origin of life.
-Jaume Plensa
Tags: Chicago The Bean The Cloud Gate sun park Milliennium art outdoor mercury cultural sky sunshine picnic music Illinois sunny reflections Anish Kapoor skyline concave chamber reflected perspectives Mellinnum elliptical forged stainless steeL' Jaume Plensa glass blocks gargoyles fountain faces mythological renowned