Millennium Park Chicago

Millennium Park in Chicago, just east of the city's downtown business district, has become a popular destination for both locals and tourists since its opening in 2004 with its open spaces, gardens, and public art.

Millennium Park is located just north of the Art Institute of Chicago, and its boundaries are Michigan Avenue on the west, Columbus Drive on the east, Randolph Street on the north, and Monroe Drive on the south.

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Millennium Park is a public park and has free admission. Parts of the park may sometimes be closed for private events and concerts, such as Chicago Gourmet.

Millennium Park photo gallery

As its an open space the park doesn't physically close, but according to city rules the public may only be in Millennium Park between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

There are four parking facilities located underneath Millennium Park and nearby Grant Park, all of which feature hourly, daily, and even overnight rates:

Grant Park North: Enter either at Monroe Street and Michigan Avenue, or at Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue

Grant Park South: Enter either at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue or Jackson Street and Michigan Avenue

Millennium Park: Enter at Columbus Drive between Monroe Street and Randolph Street

East Monroe Garage: Enter at Columbus Drive at Monroe Street

(Current rates are posted at all garage entrances)

Visitors can easily reach Millennium Park by public transportation, either by the Michigan Avenue CTA bus #151, or the Red Line subway train, Randolph stop.

The park's Great Lawn next to the Pritzker Pavilion is a great spot for a picnic on a warm, sunny Chicago summer day. Sack lunchers can also take a seat at artist Dan Peterman's "Running Table," a 100-foot-long picnic table made out of recycled plastic, located in the parks Chase Promenade.

For those not the DIY types, the promenade also features several concession carts with drinks and snacks for purchase, and the Park Cafe offers a number of different choices of picnic meals that can be pre-ordered by phone or email and picked up right at the park.

For sit-down dining, there's the Park Grill, which sits in the shadow of Cloud Gate at Michigan Avenue And Washington Street. The restaurant accommodates 300 guests, with outdoor seating in the warmer months. The cuisine is contemporary American, with a large choice of appetizers, soups, salads and entrees, as well as gourmet sandwiches on its lunch menu, and steak and seafood options for dinner.

Originally intended to open in the year 2000 to celebrate the new millennium, delays and cost overruns pushed back the park's debut by several years, and it officially opened in 2004. Those initial snafus seem to have been forgotten, however, as millions of people have flocked to Millennium Park since.

Millennium Park Features

Cloud Gate
The most visited (and photographed) item in Millennium Park is easily Cloud Gate, a public art piece by British artist Anish Kapoor. The silver, shiny seamless structure, dubbed by locals as "The Bean" for its jellybean like shape, is 66 feet long and 33 feet high, and weighs over 110 tons. Its mirror-like curved surface not only provides shutterbugs with a different perspective of the city skyline, it also creates a fun house mirror effect that amuses young and old both on the outside and underneath, which is concave.

Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain was designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa as a tribute to the citizens of Chicago. One thousand residents had their faces filmed to be displayed on the fountain's two 50 foot glass block towers. After a few minutes, the faces pucker their lips and a large stream of water emits from their mouths. Between face transitions, a wall of water cascades over the towers' sides. The fountain is on from mid-spring to mid-fall, weather permitting.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
The Pritzker Pavilion was designed by Frank Gehry, and features his signature use of brushed stainless steel to dramatic effect. Massive, long curls of steel jut out above and around the pavilion's stage, creating a striking structure. In front of the pavilion is the Great Lawn, covered by a grid of criss-crossed pipes that support the sound system, so that during performances even those towards the back of the lawn can enjoy the music remarkably well.

BP Bridge
Also designed by Gehry, the 925-foot-long BP Bridge leads from Millennium Park up and over Columbus Drive, providing some great views of the city skyline. The bridge lets out at the Daley Bicentennial Plaza, at the northeast corne of Grant Park.

Lurie Garden
Nestled in the heart of Millennium Park is the 2-1/2 acre Lurie Garden, a tranquil space created by a 15 foot tall hedge. A hardwood footbridge runs between the foliage and alongside a "stream" of running water.

Other features include the McCormick Plaza, the Harris Theater, Wrigley Square, a bike station, Exelon Pavilions, Boeing Galleries, the Chase Promenade, and the Nichols Bridgeway to the Art Institute.