Chicago is a city of breathtaking architecture. It tells the story of America's growth and prominence through its very skyline. Monumental towers and facades dot the landscape. It's a magical place and, personally, my favorite city in the US.
Nestled within all those soaring spires is something relatively new that's become as much a symbol of the city as the Hancock building or the tower-formerly-known-as-Sears.
Adjacent to Grant Park, with its Buckingham Fountain gracing the credits of Married with Children (anyone? anyone?), Millennium Park is a swath of land reborn to host swarms of tourists, concerts, and general urban gathering. It sits on the north side of the Art Institute of Chicago and offers a stunning panorama of some of the most iconic buildings in the city.
But everybody comes for The Bean.
Its formal name may be Cloud Gate, but let's be honest: nobody calls it that. Mention "The Bean" and everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. Its steel plates are immaculately polished to create a seamless surface that reflects everything around it, especially the people swarming its perimeter. Light dances off its silvery canvas and you cannot take the same picture twice, as the details are always shifting between the people, the light, and the angle of the buildings around it.
It's easy to spend a lot of time here. I did & it still wasn't enough.
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| Chicago Skyline from Lincoln Park |
Nestled within all those soaring spires is something relatively new that's become as much a symbol of the city as the Hancock building or the tower-formerly-known-as-Sears.
Adjacent to Grant Park, with its Buckingham Fountain gracing the credits of Married with Children (anyone? anyone?), Millennium Park is a swath of land reborn to host swarms of tourists, concerts, and general urban gathering. It sits on the north side of the Art Institute of Chicago and offers a stunning panorama of some of the most iconic buildings in the city.
But everybody comes for The Bean.
Its formal name may be Cloud Gate, but let's be honest: nobody calls it that. Mention "The Bean" and everyone knows exactly what you're talking about. Its steel plates are immaculately polished to create a seamless surface that reflects everything around it, especially the people swarming its perimeter. Light dances off its silvery canvas and you cannot take the same picture twice, as the details are always shifting between the people, the light, and the angle of the buildings around it.
It's easy to spend a lot of time here. I did & it still wasn't enough.
