Along with gourmet cheese popcorn, a classic staple of Chicago is Cloud Gate, the “bean” statue that resides in Millennium Park. The statue is always surrounded by tourists and long-time Chicagoans alike, and there’s no question why: The sculpture is an artistic and architectural feat, and, to put it more simply, it looks really, really cool.
Artist Anish Kapoor
The design was created by sculptor Anish Kapoor, a sculptor born in Bombay, India, and the design was chosen in a design contest. Originally, creating Cloud Gate was considered an impossible task and it did fall behind schedule and cost $17 million more than originally thought. But it is now one of the most popular attractions in Chicago, and is considered one of the best public pieces of art by Chicago art critic Edward Lifson. Anish Kapoor is also know for his mirror-like statue Sky Mirror in Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Construction
If you’ve seen Cloud Gate, you know how impressive it is in stature. The logistics of building something so massive at first seemed impossible. Finally, 168 steel panels that weigh between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds were shipped down and welded together around two type 304 stainless steel rings, creating the sculpture that weighs about 110 tons.
Cloud Gate
After its dedication on May 15, 2006 by Mayor Richard M. Daley, Cloud Gate became one of the most recognizable aspects of Chicago and of the newly created Millennium Park, which is a part of downtown Chicago’s historic Grant Park. Cloud Gate, or the “bean,” has become a hub for people at all times of day. With benches and picnic tables dotting the square it rests in, its majesty can be observed over a mustard-laden hot dog or Chicago gourmet popcorn. The sculpture reflects the cityscape of Chicago, and if you get close, it distorts you too!
So make sure you don’t visit Chicago without checking out its staples: Cloud Gate, Grant Park and gourmet cheese popcorn!
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