Millennium Park, Chicago

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I was seriously impressed with Millennium Park.

I enjoyed the greenery and the birds, the 'prairie' gardens (which were busy with bees and butterflies whenever I passed through), the serpentine bridge and the random bits of artwork....and people-watching, of course.

It felt safe too. It's not as vast as e.g. Central Park in New York and it just felt..well...safer because there was always at least one other person within sight.

The park was one of the highlights of my visit (can you tell I'm not a city girl?) and it would be a huge shame to visit Chicago and not enjoy at least an afternoon's stroll.

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Millennium Park was so much fun for Josh and ther other kids in out party. Josh had been here before and actually remembered it!!!

This is a great place to relax and let your kids play! It's also within walking distance to The Bean and this amazing area where outdoor concerts are held. Sreph tells me the acoustics are prefect having been to concerts there before!

Restaurants, bus lines and shopping are all just steps away!

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Chicago has some killer green spaces for residents and visitors alike to escape the shadows of the skyscrapers and noise of the streets. One of the best is also one of the oldest: Grant Park was been a waterfront oasis since 1844 and includes gardens, lawns, biking/walking trails, playing fields, fountains, skating rinks, performance spaces and monuments plus anchors some of the most popular attractions. Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum and Institute of Art all border Grant's expanse and one corner - Millennium Park - offers the best bargain in Chicago for free summer concerts at its enormous Frank Gehry-designed pavilion. Especially interesting about Millennium is that it's not just a park, it's one of the biggest green roofs in the world as it covers one of the most enormous parking complexes.

There's far too much stuff to do to list so reference the websites below for attractions and most current events. I have pictured here (in order):

Crown Fountain: Millenium Park
Cloud Gate sculpture (nicknamed "The Bean"): Millennium Park
Jay Pritzker Pavillion: Millenium Park
Buckingham Fountain: Grant Park
Millenium Monument, Wrigley Square: Millenium Park

The June, 2011 VT meet happily coincided with the Grant Park Music Festival and our group camped out on the lawn at the pavilion one balmy evening for several hours of classical music: great fun.

Announced this year: Chicago is planning the largest park in the lower 48 states with the addition of 140,000 acres that, when finished, will be 10 times the size of Manhattan. Grant/Millenium parks will be northern-most end of this behemoth to be christened Millennium Reserve.

http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/grant-park/

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connects the Millenium Park to the East Monroe Garage (where we parked our vehicle) and Grant Park and again is one of the modern architectural wonders inside the Millenium Park. the bridge is about 935 feet long and curves along to Grant Park so that it spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. The BP Bridge is donated by the BP petroleum (of the gulf of mexico oil spill fame) which donated 5 million dollars for the construction. The Bridge is closed during winters since it is slippery when wet due to the wooden walkway but the BP Pedestrian Bridge is a good photo ops place in the millenium park with the views of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

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provisding seasonal pieces of architecture from local and international sources and was donated by the Boeing Company of Aircrafts fame. The Boeing Gallery lies just across the Crown fountain area which is located a few steps away and the galerries showpieces open art exhibtions which lasts for a few months and are changed periodically and when I was here, they were showcasing various Contemporary Modern Outdoor Art Objects by Chinese Sculptors. The galleries are usually held during summer and springtime and early fall.

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providing an architectural food path and bridge connecting the millenium park to the Art Institute of Chicago and like the modern marvels in the Millenium Park Complex, is one of the attractions in it. The Nichols bridgeway begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park and it crosses over to Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and also great photo oppurtunities while at the middle of the bridge. There is a nearby resto at the Museum once you enter it.

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where the famous cloud gate or the Bean is Located and lies between the Mc Comick Tribute Plaza area and Jay Pritzker Pavilion and adjacent to the Chase Promenade, and between the North and South Boeing Galleries. There are not much things to do in the A T & T Plaza section of the Millenium Park but Ogle the Cloud Gate and hang around plus you can eat some hot dogs and some drinks as there are some hot dog carts available inside the Plaza. The A T & T Plaza has become a prime viewing location for Jazz music concerts held during the summer and Christmas Carols During the Winter and to see people eating and having a Brewskie at the Park Grill Plaza in the during summer and fall of which all the activities are done at the McCormick Tribune Plaza and Skating Rink.

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It is one of the main highlights on leisurely stroll to this modern Millenium Park and together with the Crowne Fountain, is the most photographed arean of the Millenium Park. The famous "Bean" (which locals call the Cloud Gate) in located in the AT & T Plaza Section of the Millenium Park, facing the Park Grille Restaurants and the Ice Skating Rink and Mc Cormick Tribute Plaza and is made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, plus its highly polished exterior has no visible seams and reflects the surroundings perfectly (but it can be very crowded near it as lots of people like us take pictures of the Bean and the reflections in it) and was constructed in 2006 by British-Indian Artist Anish Kapoor. The Structure is 33 feet long and weighs 110 tons.

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millenium park has some of the best modern artworks in chicago and is fun to walk. It is smaller than the Huge Grant Park but the attractions here are also fabulous. the 24.5-acre park is an unprecedented center for world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design, where you can experience everything from interactive public art of which the crowne fountain is an example and ice skating during winters but converted to a Beer Garden and outdoor restaurant in Spring and Summer to al fresco dining in the Park Grille and free classical music presentations by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Among the park’s prominent features is the dazzling Jay Pritzker Pavilion and the most Iconic Cloud Gate Sculpture (also called the Bean by local Chicagoans), I will be having separate tips on each icons here in the wonderful Millenium Park.

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In the heart of chicago, is the majestic Millennium Park, boasting a huge outdoor theatre. This beautiful and modern looking theatre frequently has free concerts. It is the most wonderful experience to go with friends and relax enjoying a wonderful concert. Some people prefer to sit on the chairs in front. Others prefer to relax on the grass and picnic while watching.

From mid-June to mid-August, the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, resident tenants of the Pavilion, performs on Saturdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are other free events, including jazz, gospel and classical concerts, which are also held in the summer. During winter, more intimate concerts are held on the Pavilion stage, behind its closed glass doors.