Lurie Garden
Encyclopedia
Lurie Garden is a 2.5 acres (10,117.2 m²) garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park
in the Loop
area
of Chicago
in Cook County, Illinois
, United States. Designed by Kathryn Gustafson
, Piet Oudolf
, and Robert Israel, it opened on July 16, 2004. The garden is a combination of perennials, bulb
s, grasses, shrubs and trees. It is the featured nature component of the world's largest green roof
. The garden cost $13.2 million and has a $10 million endowment
for maintenance and upkeep. It was named after Ann Lurie
, who donated the $10 million endowment. For visitors, the garden features guided walks, lectures, interactive demonstrations, family festivals and picnics.
The Garden is composed of two "plates" protected on two sides by large hedge
s. The dark plate depicts Chicago's history by presenting shade-loving plant material. The dark plate has a combination of trees that will provide a shade canopy for these plants when they fill in. The light plate, which includes no trees, represents the city's future with sun-loving perennials that thrive in the heat and the sun.
File:Millennium Park Map labels.png|Image map
of Millennium Park. Each feature or label is wikilinked. |alt=Rectangular map of a park about 1.5 times as wide as it is tall. The top half is dominated by the Pritzker Pavilion and Great Lawn. The lower half is divided into three roughly equal sections: (left to right) Wrigley Square, McCormick Tribune Plaza, and Crown Fountain. North is to the left.|400px|thumb|left
rect 51 18 145 80 McDonald's Cycle Center
rect 338 2 496 94BP Pedestrian Bridge
rect 497 62 536 101BP Pedestrian Bridge
rect 497 6 631 34 Columbus Drive
rect 10 88 154 104 Exelon Pavilion NE
rect 47 108 79 131 Exelon Pavilion NE
rect 619 95 754 112 Exelon Pavilion SE
rect 728 113 759 135 Exelon Pavilion SE
rect 10 246 166 263 Exelon Pavilion NW
rect 47 265 78 288 Exelon Pavilion NW
rect 613 243 762 258 Exelon Pavilion SW
rect 736 260 757 275 Exelon Pavilion SW
rect 44 149 174 229 Harris Theater
rect 175 103 572 288 Jay Pritzker Pavilion
rect 573 134 757 238 Lurie Garden
rect 572 311 718 329 Nichols Bridgeway
rect 516 298 777 306 Nichols Bridgeway
rect 58 350 207 396 Chase Promenade North
rect 291 350 453 396 Chase Promenade Central
rect 537 350 687 396 Chase Promenade South
rect 313 397 431 424 AT&T Plaza
rect 37 434 227 473 Boeing Gallery North
rect 516 433 757 469 Boeing Gallery South
rect 337 426 416 470 Cloud Gate
rect 60 486 216 546 Wrigley Square
rect 287 477 457 543 McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
rect 557 488 727 543 Crown Fountain
rect 308 567 439 583 Michigan Avenue
rect 1 316 23 442 Randolph Street
desc bottom-left
Lying between Lake Michigan
to the east and the Loop to the west, Grant Park
has been Chicago's front yard since the mid 19th century. Its northwest corner, north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute
, east of Michigan Avenue
, south of Randolph Street, and west of Columbus Drive, had been Illinois Central
rail yards and parking lots until 1997, when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park
. Today, Millennium Park trails only Navy Pier
as a Chicago tourist attraction. Today, the is truly a rooftop garden on top of the Millennium Park parking garage, which is itself above railroad tracks.
In 1836, a year before Chicago was incorporated, the Board of Canal Commissioners held public auctions for the city's first lots. Foresighted citizens, who wanted the lakefront kept as public open space, convinced the commissioners to designate the land east of Michigan Avenue between Randolph Street and Park Row (11th Street) "Public Ground—A Common to Remain Forever Open, Clear and Free of Any Buildings, or Other Obstruction, whatever." Grant Park has been "forever open, clear and free" since, protected by legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings. In 1839, United States Secretary of War
Joel Roberts Poinsett
declared the land between Randolph Street and Madison Street east of Michigan Avenue "Public Ground forever to remain vacant of buildings". Aaron Montgomery Ward
, who is known both as the inventor of mail order
and the protector of Grant Park, twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. In 1890, arguing that Michigan Avenue property owners held easement
s on the park land, Ward commenced legal actions to keep the park free of new buildings. In 1900, the Illinois Supreme Court concluded that all landfill east of Michigan Avenue was subject to dedications and easements. In 1909, when he sought to prevent the construction of the Field Museum of Natural History
in the center of the park, the courts affirmed his arguments. As a result, the city has what are termed the Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park and the there are no tall buildings in the park blocking the sun for large parts of the day.
The Lurie garden constantly depicts the dynamics of nature, but it is most colorful from June through the autumn. It is not a botanical garden
with a scientific purpose and is instead a public garden. Thus, it does not use a plant labeling system. The plant life of the garden consists entirely of perennials. It does not now nor does it intend to incorporate annual
s, which rarely survive Chicago winters. Approximately 60% of the plant life in the light and dark plates are plants that are native to Illinois. It is located across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago
's new Modern Wing, and within the park it is south of Jay Pritzker Pavilion
, east of the South Chase Promenade
and Southwest Exelon Pavilion as well as the future site of the Nichols Bridgeway
, west of the Southeast Exelon Pavilion, southwest of the BP Pedestrian Bridge
.
's moniker of Chicago as the "City of Big Shoulders" with a 15 feet (4.6 m) "shoulder" hedge that protects the perennial garden and encloses the park on two sides. It keeps the garden from being trampled by crowds exiting events at the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion
.
The "shoulder" hedge, which serves as the northern edge of the garden, also fills the space next to the void of the great lawn of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. These hedges use a metal armature
, to prefigure the mature hedge. The shoulder hedge is an evolving hedge screen of deciduous
Fagus
(beech) and Carpinus (hornbeam) and evergreen
Thuja
(arborvitae, also known as redcedars) that will eventually (over the course of approximately ten years) branch horizontally to fill the permanent armature frame and create a solid hedge.
The garden was one of the gardens depticted in the 2006 In Search of Paradise: Great Gardens of the World exhibition that was shown from May 12–October 22, 2006 in the Boeing Galleries and that was later shown in the Chicago Botanic Garden
. The Chicago Botanic Garden developed the exhibition that included 65 photomurals of gardens from 21 countries using photographs that were less than five years old.
, and Israel, a renowned lighting and set designer, determined the thematic concepts such as the placement of paths, and the shapes of perennial beds. Oudolf, a Dutch master of perennial, designed the flower beds which contain 26,000 perennial plants in 250 varieties native to the prairie
. Gustafson and her partners, Jennifer Guthrie and Shannon Nichol, and Israel are Seattle-based. The garden is designed with four primary components: the shoulder hedge, the light plate, the dark plate and the seam boardwalk.
The shoulder hedge frames the garden's north and west sides, and the hedge and armature help to protect the perennials from heavy pedestrian traffic. The 14 feet (4.3 m) armature also provides a permanent pruning guide. In addition to the Carl Sandburg symbolism, the western hedge also forms a topiary
referring to greek mythology
.
Lurie Garden is bisected by a diagonal boardwalk
, which represents the natural Lake Michigan
seawall
that still bisects Grant Park. The boardwalk divides the garden into two plates, one of which contains muted colors, the other bright colors, while paralleling the line of the old Illinois Central Railroad retaining wall. The dark plate represents the early landscape history of the site, while the light plate represents the landscape of the future. The diagonal plate-dividing seam boardwalk serves as a demarcation between two eras of Chicago's landscape development. It also serves as a reminder of the time when Chicago placed boards over the marshland for pedestrians.
The boardwalk has a 24 inches (61 cm) wide step on one side. The step, which provides seating, leads down to a 5 feet (1.5 m) wide canal
, which runs between this step and a limestone
wall. The limestone supports the plant beds of the dark plate. The water is invigorated with jets, and visitors are allowed to sit and dangle their feet in the water. It traces the angle of a historic subterranean seawall that remains beneath the site and used to be the boundary between the marshy Lake Michigan shoreline and the city. The boardwalk also crosses over stepped pools that expose a 5 feet (1.5 m) wide seam of water.
The garden initially had a hardwood footbridge
that passes over the shallow water in the canal, and that divides the garden diagonally. However, stories in the sixth year of the garden described steel bridges. The entire garden slopes downward to present itself for the new Renzo Piano
Modern Wing addition to the Art Institute of Chicago Building
. At the foot of the canal opposite the Building the water ends in a pool. Oudolf's lighting accents the hedges, and pathways are lit by in-ground lighting fixtures. There were complaints that the construction of the Nichols Bridgeway
clutters the picturesque view of Lurie Gardens and in so doing diminishes its prairie aspect.
ing, stone stairway
s, stair landings, wall coping
, and wall cladding
in the interior of the Garden use midwestern limestone. The garden uses granite
for paving
and wall veneer
. Where it is exposed, the granite surfaces have a flamed finish. The boardwalk and wood benches in the Garden are fabricated from FSC-certified Ipe
. The garden primarily uses patinized Naval Brass
(all metal plates in the Seam), patinized architectural bronze
(all handrails), and powdercoated steel
(the armature).
, Wild White Indigo, Quamash
, Shooting Star
, Prairie Smoke
, Virginia Bluebells, Herbaceous Peony
, Phlomis
, Meadow Sage, Burnet
, and Tulip
; Summer highlights include - Giant Hyssop, Ornamental Onion
, Butterfly Weed
, Purple Lance Astilbe
, Calamint, Rusty Foxglove, Pale Coneflower
, Daylily
, White Blazing Star
, Bee Balm, Oregano
, and Culver's Root
; Fall/Winter hightlights include - Japanese Anemone
, White Wood Aster, Northern Sea Oats
, Tennessee Coneflower
, Purple Love Grass, Rattlesnake Master, Bottle Gentian, Common Eulalia Grass
, Red Switch Grass, Little Bluestem
, Prairie Dropseed
, and Toad Lily. The garden features dozens of types of perennials and bulbs. The garden features both ornamental and prairie grasses. It includes evergreen
and deciduous
shrubs. Its trees serve as its foundation. The wide variety of plant life has lured dozens of cottontail rabbit
s to the Garden and the surrounding park. The garden uses no synthetic pesticide
s.
60,000 and 42,000 bulbs were handplanted in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2009, 20,000 additional bulbs were planted, bringing the total to 120,000 and extending the flowering season earlier. The garden includes 35,000 perennials in 240 varieties and 5,200 "woody" plants in 14 varieties.
The dark plate's perennials include ferns, angelicas and other broad-leaved species, with a scattering of trees sprouting out of the flower beds. These plants thrive with shade
from trees. The lush plants of this plate were selected by Oudolf as a tribute to Chicago's marshy beginnings. It is described as a thick wetland
whose designers have described as "wild, naughty and hidden."
The light plate is dominated by prairie plants: grasses, coneflowers, prairie-smoke and no trees. These plants thrive in direct sunlight. This plate unites lighter native plants with imported specimens. It is described as a fine-textured upland whose designers have described as "clean, noble and prominent".
At the time of the 2004 opening of the Garden, the perennials were expected to need a year or two to mature and the hedges were expected to need another five to ten years to fill out. Another Tribune critic, Beth Botts, noted that the historical symbolism of the plantings is a future pleasure to be anticipated. However, she noted that it would be many years before the rosebud trees to the east could provide an pleasant shade. By the July/August 2010 issue of Garden Design, the garden was described as a garden in maturity worth revisiting.
Several animal species have been sighted in the garden. 27 species
of birds have been identified in the park and its garden. Butterflies
and bee
s have are among the wildlife that visit the garden.
through Labor Day
from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
Pulitzer Prize
-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin
, rated the garden as three stars, but projected it to be a four star venue once mature. He praised the light plate especially for its vibrant composition and undulating garden as a fitting contrast to the historic Chicago skyline. He also praised the symbolism of the seam for its uniqueness. He considers the garden a testement to the value of urban planning
of public spaces. Botts noted that the reward of a design awaiting maturity is in enjoying the maturation.
, George Hargreaves
, Jeffrey Mendoza and Michael Van Valkenburgh
.
The garden has won numerous awards: Best Public Space Award by Travel + Leisure
, 2005; Intensive Industrial Award by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, 2005; Award of Honor by WASLA Professional Awards, 2005; Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design, American Institute of Architects
, 2006 (Millennium Park); and Award of Excellence, American Society of Landscape Architects
Professional Awards, 2008.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities considers the park to be the largest green roof
in the world as it covers a structural deck supported by two reinforced concrete
cast-in-place garages and steel structures that span the space above Illinois Central Railroad
tracks.
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
in the Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
area
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in Cook County, Illinois
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, United States. Designed by Kathryn Gustafson
Kathryn Gustafson
Kathryn Gustafson is an American landscape architect and artist. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. She has won awards and prizes including the Millennium...
, Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf is an influential Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" or "New Wave Planting" movement, using bold drifts of herbaceous perennial plants and grasses which are chosen for their structure as much as for their flower colour .His books...
, and Robert Israel, it opened on July 16, 2004. The garden is a combination of perennials, bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s, grasses, shrubs and trees. It is the featured nature component of the world's largest green roof
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
. The garden cost $13.2 million and has a $10 million endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
for maintenance and upkeep. It was named after Ann Lurie
Ann & Robert H. Lurie
Robert H. Lurie graduated from University of Michigan with a BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering in 1964 and a MSE in 1966. While studying at the University of Michigan, he and Sam Zell began a real-estate management company, which expanded into two large apartment and office property...
, who donated the $10 million endowment. For visitors, the garden features guided walks, lectures, interactive demonstrations, family festivals and picnics.
The Garden is composed of two "plates" protected on two sides by large hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
s. The dark plate depicts Chicago's history by presenting shade-loving plant material. The dark plate has a combination of trees that will provide a shade canopy for these plants when they fill in. The light plate, which includes no trees, represents the city's future with sun-loving perennials that thrive in the heat and the sun.
General information
Image map
In HTML and XHTML , an image map is a list of coordinates relating to a specific image, created in order to hyperlink areas of the image to various destinations . For example, a map of the world may have each country hyperlinked to further information about that country...
of Millennium Park. Each feature or label is wikilinked.
rect 51 18 145 80 McDonald's Cycle Center
McDonald's Cycle Center
McDonald's Cycle Center is an indoor bike station in the northeast corner of Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city of Chicago built the center at the intersection of East Randolph Street and Columbus Drive, and opened it July 2004...
rect 338 2 496 94BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect...
rect 497 62 536 101BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect...
rect 497 6 631 34 Columbus Drive
Columbus Drive (Chicago)
Columbus Drive is a north-south street in Chicago, Illinois which bisects Grant Park. It is 254 E in Chicago's street numbering system. Its south end is an interchange with Lake Shore Drive at Soldier Field...
rect 10 88 154 104 Exelon Pavilion NE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 47 108 79 131 Exelon Pavilion NE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 619 95 754 112 Exelon Pavilion SE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 728 113 759 135 Exelon Pavilion SE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 10 246 166 263 Exelon Pavilion NW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 47 265 78 288 Exelon Pavilion NW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 613 243 762 258 Exelon Pavilion SW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 736 260 757 275 Exelon Pavilion SW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 44 149 174 229 Harris Theater
Harris Theater (Chicago)
The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is a 1,525-seat theater for the performing arts located along the northern edge of Millennium Park on Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, US...
rect 175 103 572 288 Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
rect 573 134 757 238 Lurie Garden
Lurie Garden
Lurie Garden is a garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park in the Loop area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, and Robert Israel, it opened on July 16, 2004. The garden is a combination of perennials, bulbs, grasses,...
rect 572 311 718 329 Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
rect 516 298 777 306 Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
rect 58 350 207 396 Chase Promenade North
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 291 350 453 396 Chase Promenade Central
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 537 350 687 396 Chase Promenade South
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 313 397 431 424 AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza is a public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture. It is located in Millennium Park, which is a park built to celebrate the third millennium and which is located within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States...
rect 37 434 227 473 Boeing Gallery North
Boeing Galleries
- Past exhibitions :2005The first exhibition in the renamed Galleries was Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait, which was displayed on the Central Chase Promenade and South Boeing Gallery, appeared from June 10–October 10, 2005...
rect 516 433 757 469 Boeing Gallery South
Boeing Galleries
- Past exhibitions :2005The first exhibition in the renamed Galleries was Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait, which was displayed on the Central Chase Promenade and South Boeing Gallery, appeared from June 10–October 10, 2005...
rect 337 426 416 470 Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
rect 60 486 216 546 Wrigley Square
Wrigley Square
Wrigley Square is a public square located in the northwest section of Millennium Park in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Loop area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA. The square is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Randolph Street and North Michigan...
rect 287 477 457 543 McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from...
rect 557 488 727 543 Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a...
rect 308 567 439 583 Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
rect 1 316 23 442 Randolph Street
Randolph Street (Chicago)
Randolph Street is a street in Chicago. It runs east-west through the Chicago Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway , and continuing west. It serves as the northern boundary of...
desc bottom-left
Lying between Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
to the east and the Loop to the west, Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
has been Chicago's front yard since the mid 19th century. Its northwest corner, north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, east of Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
, south of Randolph Street, and west of Columbus Drive, had been Illinois Central
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
rail yards and parking lots until 1997, when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
. Today, Millennium Park trails only Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
as a Chicago tourist attraction. Today, the is truly a rooftop garden on top of the Millennium Park parking garage, which is itself above railroad tracks.
In 1836, a year before Chicago was incorporated, the Board of Canal Commissioners held public auctions for the city's first lots. Foresighted citizens, who wanted the lakefront kept as public open space, convinced the commissioners to designate the land east of Michigan Avenue between Randolph Street and Park Row (11th Street) "Public Ground—A Common to Remain Forever Open, Clear and Free of Any Buildings, or Other Obstruction, whatever." Grant Park has been "forever open, clear and free" since, protected by legislation that has been affirmed by four previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings. In 1839, United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett was a physician, botanist and American statesman. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, the first United States Minister to Mexico , a U.S...
declared the land between Randolph Street and Madison Street east of Michigan Avenue "Public Ground forever to remain vacant of buildings". Aaron Montgomery Ward
Aaron Montgomery Ward
Aaron Montgomery Ward was an American businessman notable for the invention of mail order.The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago...
, who is known both as the inventor of mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
and the protector of Grant Park, twice sued the city of Chicago to force it to remove buildings and structures from Grant Park and to keep it from building new ones. In 1890, arguing that Michigan Avenue property owners held easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
s on the park land, Ward commenced legal actions to keep the park free of new buildings. In 1900, the Illinois Supreme Court concluded that all landfill east of Michigan Avenue was subject to dedications and easements. In 1909, when he sought to prevent the construction of the Field Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
in the center of the park, the courts affirmed his arguments. As a result, the city has what are termed the Montgomery Ward height restrictions on buildings and structures in Grant Park and the there are no tall buildings in the park blocking the sun for large parts of the day.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
with a scientific purpose and is instead a public garden. Thus, it does not use a plant labeling system. The plant life of the garden consists entirely of perennials. It does not now nor does it intend to incorporate annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s, which rarely survive Chicago winters. Approximately 60% of the plant life in the light and dark plates are plants that are native to Illinois. It is located across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
's new Modern Wing, and within the park it is south of Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
, east of the South Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
and Southwest Exelon Pavilion as well as the future site of the Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
, west of the Southeast Exelon Pavilion, southwest of the BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect...
.
Culture
The world-class garden was an essential element of the park, as the motto of Chicago is Urbs in Horto, which is a Latin phrase meaning City in a Garden. The Garden also pays tribute to Carl SandburgCarl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
's moniker of Chicago as the "City of Big Shoulders" with a 15 feet (4.6 m) "shoulder" hedge that protects the perennial garden and encloses the park on two sides. It keeps the garden from being trampled by crowds exiting events at the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
.
The "shoulder" hedge, which serves as the northern edge of the garden, also fills the space next to the void of the great lawn of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. These hedges use a metal armature
Armature (sculpture)
In sculpture, an armature is a framework around which the sculpture is built. This framework provides structure and stability, especially when a plastic material such as wax or clay is being used as the medium...
, to prefigure the mature hedge. The shoulder hedge is an evolving hedge screen of deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
Fagus
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
(beech) and Carpinus (hornbeam) and evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
Thuja
Thuja
Thuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia...
(arborvitae, also known as redcedars) that will eventually (over the course of approximately ten years) branch horizontally to fill the permanent armature frame and create a solid hedge.
The garden was one of the gardens depticted in the 2006 In Search of Paradise: Great Gardens of the World exhibition that was shown from May 12–October 22, 2006 in the Boeing Galleries and that was later shown in the Chicago Botanic Garden
Chicago Botanic Garden
Located at 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois, USA, the Chicago Botanic Garden is a living plant museum situated on nine islands featuring 24 display gardens and surrounded by four natural habitats: McDonald Woods, Dixon Prairie, Skokie River Corridor, and Lakes and Shores. The Garden is open...
. The Chicago Botanic Garden developed the exhibition that included 65 photomurals of gardens from 21 countries using photographs that were less than five years old.
Design
Kathryn Gustafson, known generally for sculptured parks and lively waterworks and specifically for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial FountainDiana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain is a memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales. It was designed to express Diana's spirit and love of children. It is located in the southwest corner of Hyde Park in London, just south of the Serpentine Lake and east of the Serpentine Gallery...
, and Israel, a renowned lighting and set designer, determined the thematic concepts such as the placement of paths, and the shapes of perennial beds. Oudolf, a Dutch master of perennial, designed the flower beds which contain 26,000 perennial plants in 250 varieties native to the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
. Gustafson and her partners, Jennifer Guthrie and Shannon Nichol, and Israel are Seattle-based. The garden is designed with four primary components: the shoulder hedge, the light plate, the dark plate and the seam boardwalk.
The shoulder hedge frames the garden's north and west sides, and the hedge and armature help to protect the perennials from heavy pedestrian traffic. The 14 feet (4.3 m) armature also provides a permanent pruning guide. In addition to the Carl Sandburg symbolism, the western hedge also forms a topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...
referring to greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
Lurie Garden is bisected by a diagonal boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
, which represents the natural Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
seawall
Seawall
A seawall is a form of coastal defence constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation and leisure activities from the action of tides and waves...
that still bisects Grant Park. The boardwalk divides the garden into two plates, one of which contains muted colors, the other bright colors, while paralleling the line of the old Illinois Central Railroad retaining wall. The dark plate represents the early landscape history of the site, while the light plate represents the landscape of the future. The diagonal plate-dividing seam boardwalk serves as a demarcation between two eras of Chicago's landscape development. It also serves as a reminder of the time when Chicago placed boards over the marshland for pedestrians.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
, which runs between this step and a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
wall. The limestone supports the plant beds of the dark plate. The water is invigorated with jets, and visitors are allowed to sit and dangle their feet in the water. It traces the angle of a historic subterranean seawall that remains beneath the site and used to be the boundary between the marshy Lake Michigan shoreline and the city. The boardwalk also crosses over stepped pools that expose a 5 feet (1.5 m) wide seam of water.
The garden initially had a hardwood footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
that passes over the shallow water in the canal, and that divides the garden diagonally. However, stories in the sixth year of the garden described steel bridges. The entire garden slopes downward to present itself for the new Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
Modern Wing addition to the Art Institute of Chicago Building
Art Institute of Chicago Building
The Art Institute of Chicago Building houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is located in the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The building is also located in Grant Park on the east side of Michigan Avenue, and marks the third...
. At the foot of the canal opposite the Building the water ends in a pool. Oudolf's lighting accents the hedges, and pathways are lit by in-ground lighting fixtures. There were complaints that the construction of the Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
clutters the picturesque view of Lurie Gardens and in so doing diminishes its prairie aspect.
Materials
The garden is a sustainable design built on lightweight geofoam under the soil. All curbCurb
Curb may refer to:* Curb , or kerb, the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway.* Curb Records, a record label started by Mike Curb in 1973....
ing, stone stairway
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
s, stair landings, wall coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
, and wall cladding
Cladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....
in the interior of the Garden use midwestern limestone. The garden uses granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
for paving
Pavement (architecture)
A pavement in architecture is a stone or tile structure, the pavement, which can serve as a floor or an external feature. Pavements can be made of flagstones which are used for things like paving gardens, tiles also there were mosaics which were commonly used by the Romans.When along the side of...
and wall veneer
Masonry Veneer
Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry work, typically brick, backed by an air space. The innermost element is usually structural, and may consist of wood or metal framing or masonry...
. Where it is exposed, the granite surfaces have a flamed finish. The boardwalk and wood benches in the Garden are fabricated from FSC-certified Ipe
Tabebuia
Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and southern Florida south to northern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba...
. The garden primarily uses patinized Naval Brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
(all metal plates in the Seam), patinized architectural bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
(all handrails), and powdercoated steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
(the armature).
Wildlife features
The seasonal highlights are as follows: Spring highlights include - Star of Persia, Arkansas Blue StarAmsonia hubrichtii
Amsonia hubrichtii is a flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae...
, Wild White Indigo, Quamash
Quamash
Quamash , also known as Small Camas, is a perennial herb. It is one species of the genus Camassia and is native to western North America in large areas of southern Canada and the northwestern United States, from British Columbia and Alberta to California and east from Washington state to Montana...
, Shooting Star
Dodecatheon meadia
Dodecatheon meadia, known as Shooting Star, is a perennial wildflower native to North America. It is found in the American South, as well as the Upper Midwest, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania and the Canadian province of Manitoba...
, Prairie Smoke
Geum triflorum
Geum triflorum, is a spring perennial herbaceous plant of North America from northern Canada to California and east to New York....
, Virginia Bluebells, Herbaceous Peony
Paeonia lactiflora
Paeonia lactiflora, also Chinese Peony , and common garden peony is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to central and eastern Asia from eastern Tibet across northern China to eastern Siberia...
, Phlomis
Phlomis
Phlomis is a genus of about 100 species of herbaceous plants, subshrubs and shrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native from the Mediterranean region east across central Asia to China. Common names include Jerusalem Sage and Lampwick Plant....
, Meadow Sage, Burnet
Burnet
- Living things:* Plants in the genus Sanguisorba* Moths in the genus Zygaena * Salad Burnet or Burnet, European borage salad* Burnet Saxifrage, a plant used as a herb- People with surname Burnet:...
, and Tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
; Summer highlights include - Giant Hyssop, Ornamental Onion
Allium
Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
, Butterfly Weed
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early fall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5–12 cm long and 2–3 cm broad.This plant favors...
, Purple Lance Astilbe
Astilbe chinensis
Astilbe chinensis is a plant in the saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae.-Description:Astilbe chinensis is a herbaceous plant with alternate, pinnately compound leaves, on thin stems. The flowers are purple, borne in summer. The plant prefers full sun and is planted in moist clay soils...
, Calamint, Rusty Foxglove, Pale Coneflower
Echinacea pallida
Echinacea pallida , commonly called Pale Purple Cone-flower, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes grown in gardens and used for medicinal purposes. Its native range is the south central region of the United States.-Description:E. pallida is similar to E...
, Daylily
Daylily
Daylily is the general nonscientific name of a species, hybrid or cultivar of the genus Hemerocallis . Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists...
, White Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie gay feather, is an herbaceous perennial plant native throughout most of eastern North America....
, Bee Balm, Oregano
Oregano
Oregano – scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus – is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family . It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall,...
, and Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Veronicastrum virginicum is a wildflower native to the United States...
; Fall/Winter hightlights include - Japanese Anemone
Anemone hupehensis
Anemone hupehensis, Anemone hupehensis var. japonica, and Anemone × hybrida are herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family.Anemone × hybrida is a hybrid of Anemone hupehensis var...
, White Wood Aster, Northern Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
Chasmanthium latifolium, known as Woodoats, Inland sea oats, Northern sea oats, and River oats is a grass native to the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico; it grows as far north as Pennsylvania and Michigan, where it is a threatened species...
, Tennessee Coneflower
Echinacea tennesseensis
Echinacea tennesseensis, also known as the Tennessee coneflower or Tennessee purple coneflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, endemic to the cedar glades of the central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Description:...
, Purple Love Grass, Rattlesnake Master, Bottle Gentian, Common Eulalia Grass
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass, Eulalia grass, maiden grass, zebra grass, Susuki grass, porcupine grass; syn. Eulalia japonica Trin., Miscanthus sinensis f. glaber Honda, Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc., Miscanthus sinensis var....
, Red Switch Grass, Little Bluestem
Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a North American prairie grass. Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem , indiangrass and switchgrass...
, Prairie Dropseed
Prairie dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis, the Prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to a widespread area of the US and Canada.-Description:Taking up to five years to mature from seed, the adult dropseed can range...
, and Toad Lily. The garden features dozens of types of perennials and bulbs. The garden features both ornamental and prairie grasses. It includes evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
and deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
shrubs. Its trees serve as its foundation. The wide variety of plant life has lured dozens of cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbit
The cottontail rabbits are among the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit...
s to the Garden and the surrounding park. The garden uses no synthetic pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s.
60,000 and 42,000 bulbs were handplanted in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2009, 20,000 additional bulbs were planted, bringing the total to 120,000 and extending the flowering season earlier. The garden includes 35,000 perennials in 240 varieties and 5,200 "woody" plants in 14 varieties.
The dark plate's perennials include ferns, angelicas and other broad-leaved species, with a scattering of trees sprouting out of the flower beds. These plants thrive with shade
Shade
Shade is the blocking of sunlight by any object, and also the shadow created by that object. Shade also consists of the colors grey, black, white, etc...
from trees. The lush plants of this plate were selected by Oudolf as a tribute to Chicago's marshy beginnings. It is described as a thick wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
whose designers have described as "wild, naughty and hidden."
The light plate is dominated by prairie plants: grasses, coneflowers, prairie-smoke and no trees. These plants thrive in direct sunlight. This plate unites lighter native plants with imported specimens. It is described as a fine-textured upland whose designers have described as "clean, noble and prominent".
At the time of the 2004 opening of the Garden, the perennials were expected to need a year or two to mature and the hedges were expected to need another five to ten years to fill out. Another Tribune critic, Beth Botts, noted that the historical symbolism of the plantings is a future pleasure to be anticipated. However, she noted that it would be many years before the rosebud trees to the east could provide an pleasant shade. By the July/August 2010 issue of Garden Design, the garden was described as a garden in maturity worth revisiting.
Several animal species have been sighted in the garden. 27 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of birds have been identified in the park and its garden. Butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s have are among the wildlife that visit the garden.
Visitor programming
In 2008, the garden hosted four million visitors from 21. In its first few years, it has had over two dozen adult programs attended by 1,800 people each year and over three dozen family programs attended by 5,000 people per year. The garden participated in an "Ask Me" program in 2009, during which 12 volunteers logged 192 hours answering questions from 1,094 guests from 35 states and 20 countries as well as a series of 2009 Sunday Garden Tours in which 24 people volunteered 391 hours to guide 2,027 guests from 45 states and 26 countries through the garden. During 2009, eight volunteers spent 383 hours gardening. The garden has two staff members and four volunteers on hand to answer questions on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The garden is open from Memorial DayMemorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
through Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
Critical review
Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin
Blair Kamin
Blair Kamin is the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic of the Chicago Tribune, a post he has held since 1992. Kamin has held other jobs at the Tribune and previously worked for The Des Moines Register. He also serves as a contributing editor of Architectural Record...
, rated the garden as three stars, but projected it to be a four star venue once mature. He praised the light plate especially for its vibrant composition and undulating garden as a fitting contrast to the historic Chicago skyline. He also praised the symbolism of the seam for its uniqueness. He considers the garden a testement to the value of urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
of public spaces. Botts noted that the reward of a design awaiting maturity is in enjoying the maturation.
Awards
The garden is the result of an invited international competition that occurred from August to October 2000. Following the contest the garden was commissioned in October 2000 and completed in June 2004. Among the entrants in the competition were Louis Benech, Dan KileyDan Kiley
Daniel Urban Kiley was a noted American landscape architect in the modernist style.- Life and career :Kiley was born in Boston, Massachusetts...
, George Hargreaves
George Hargreaves
George Hargreaves is a landscape architect. He has many awards to his name for his contributions to the profession. Hargreaves and his firm designed numerous sites including the master plan for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, in Seattle, Washington, and ....
, Jeffrey Mendoza and Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael R. Van Valkenburgh is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France including public parks, college campuses, sculpture gardens, city courtyards, corporate landscapes, and private gardens-Early...
.
The garden has won numerous awards: Best Public Space Award by Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by...
, 2005; Intensive Industrial Award by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, 2005; Award of Honor by WASLA Professional Awards, 2005; Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design, American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
, 2006 (Millennium Park); and Award of Excellence, American Society of Landscape Architects
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...
Professional Awards, 2008.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities considers the park to be the largest green roof
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
in the world as it covers a structural deck supported by two reinforced concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
cast-in-place garages and steel structures that span the space above Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
tracks.