Art & Architecture

From bold architectural landmarks to world-renowned public art, Millennium Park is a tribute to creative vision. Learn more about the artists, architects, and designers whose work helped shape this iconic civic space.

Millennium Park is a world leader of art and architecture in a public, outdoor, urban setting. Invoking a sense of calm, refuge, and reflection, each visitor can indulge in a unique artistic experience with the opportunity to admire the Chicago skyline as a subtle backdrop.

Cloud Gate

Affectionately called “The Bean,” Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate has become synonymous with the Chicago experience.

Crown Fountain

Designed by Jaume Plensa and built by Krueck + Sexton Architects, Crown Fountain uses numerous design elements including water, light, and glass to create a unique meeting point and reflection space. Though not originally constructed as such, the Fountain has become an interactive summer urban oasis for families and visitors who take refuge in the space during Chicago’s humid summers.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Jay Pritzker Pavilion is one of the most popular destinations in Chicago for a diverse array of free cultural performances. The Pavilion hosts audiences who come to enjoy its annual Summer Music and Film Series, as well as Gospel, Jazz, Blues, Mariachi, and World Music Festivals, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Broadway in Chicago, Lyric Opera, and Grant Park Music Festival.

Lurie Garden

Lurie Garden was designed to combine naturalistic plantings and ecologically sensitive maintenance practices to create an urban oasis for city dwellers and wildlife alike.

Millennium Monument at Wrigley Square

The Millennium Monument at Wrigley Square is a nearly full-sized replica of a peristyle that originally stood on the same location at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street between 1917 and 1953.

McCormick Tribune Plaza

McCormick Tribune Plaza plays a dual role within the Park’s borders.

During the winter season, the space becomes one of Chicago’s largest outdoor ice skating rinks drawing more than 100,000 skaters annually and is free (not inclusive of skate rental) and open to the public, weather permitting. During the summer season, the Ice Rink is converted into an outdoor dining venue on Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison Streets.

Artists & Designers

Anish Kapoor

Born in India and based in Britain, Anish Kapoor has gained international recognition for his large-scale installations that challenge viewers' spatial awareness. Kapoor’s work often blurs the boundaries between art and its surroundings, and Cloud Gate exemplifies his vision by merging architecture, public space, and optical illusion into an iconic urban landmark. Kapoor’s innovative use of materials, from polished steel to deep pigments, has solidified his place as one of the most influential contemporary artists.
For more information on Anish Kapoor and his works around the globe, please visit his website.
Jaume Plensa

Spanish artist Jaume Plensa is renowned for his ability to blend art with public spaces in a way that sparks contemplation and connection. His sculptures often incorporate text, light, and human figures to evoke themes of identity and community. Plensa's work invites engagement, encouraging viewers to find meaning in the intersection of art and urban life.
For more information on Jaume Plensa and his other works, please visit his website.
Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry is an award-winning architect based out of Los Angeles, California. Born February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Canada, Gehry has spread his signature Deconstructivist style in all parts of the globe. Learn more about the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
For more information on Frank Gehry and his other works, please visit his website.
Piet Oudolph

Piet Oudolf (who hails from the Netherlands) is a renowned Dutch garden and landscape designer at the forefront of the New Perennial movement. Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has constructed dozens of private and corporate gardens, and collaborated on public spaces throughout the world, including the celebrated High Line in New York City, Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago, and temporary installations for the Venice Biennale and the Serpentine Gallery pavilion. He was awarded the highest cultural honor in The Netherlands, the Prince Bernhard Culture prize, in 2013.
For more information on Piet Oudolf, please visit his website.
GGN

GGN is a landscape architecture firm based in Seattle, Washington founded in 1999 by Jennifer Guthrie, Shannon Nichol, and Kathryn Gustafson. The firm’s founding principals, led the design and construction of the Lurie Garden.
Prominent projects include the National Museum of African American History and Culture, CityCenterDC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Campus, and Boston’s North End Parks. GGN was the recipient of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Landscape Architecture in 2011. The firm’s project awards include ASLA National Awards of Excellence, ASLA and AIA Honor Awards for Design, Tucker Design Awards, and Great Places Awards from the Environmental Design Research Association.
For more information about GGN, please visit their website.
Ed Uhlir

Ed Uhlir (1944–2017) was a visionary architect and urban planner who played a pivotal role in shaping Millennium Park as its design director, master planner, and first Executive Director of the Millennium Park Foundation. With a deep belief that great cities deserve great public spaces, Uhlir oversaw every aspect of the park’s creation, transforming it into Chicago’s crown jewel. His leadership and dedication brought to life an iconic destination that blends art, architecture, and landscape design, making Millennium Park one of the most celebrated urban spaces in the world. His legacy continues to inspire public space development globally.
Terry Guen

Terry Guen is Principal and Founder of Chicago-based Terry Guen Design Associates. As the master landscape architect for Millennium Park, she was responsible for the design and implementation of the entire 24.5 acre landscape. Working with Gustafson Guthrie Nichol as Lurie Garden’s local landscape architect, she worked with contractors to implement the design, including procurement of plants, and layout of Piet Oudolf’s perennial plant display.
For more information about Terry Guen and her design firm, please visit her website.
Austin Eicheid

Austin Eischeid is the owner and head designer of Chicago-based Austin Eischeid Garden Design. He specializes in designing dynamic naturalistic plantings using strong perennials and grasses with all season interest. Austin has been responsible for the creation of the North Gardens at Millennium Park, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion East Garden, the spring bulbs at the McDonald’s Cycle Center, and the seasonal displays in the park’s perimeter planters. Future designs will include new gardens near Cloud Gate Plaza and the McCormick Tribune Plaza/Ice Rink. His garden design work in Millennium Park represents Eischeid’s first major public landscape installation in the United States.
For more information about Austin Eischeid and his garden design work, please visit his website.