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Kids Playing in Crown Fountain, Millennium Park, Chicago, Illino

Crown Fountain was designed by Spanish, Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and opened in July 2004. The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a black granite shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens having water periodically flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. This is a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents...The fountain, which is at the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. Its use of water is unique among Chicago's many fountains, in that it promotes physical interaction between the public and the water. Both the fountain and Millennium Park are highly accessible because of their universal design. The fountain is a public play area and offers people an escape from summer heat and allows children to frolic in the fountain's water.

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Filename
200407D 13 Chicago Millenium Park.jpg
Copyright
© 2009 Mark Eppley, Creation Light Photography, All Rights Reserved, creation-light.com
Image Size
1600x2400 / 2.1MB
Contained in galleries
Chicago & Illinois
Crown Fountain was designed by Spanish, Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and opened in July 2004. The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a black granite shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens having water periodically flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. This is a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents...The fountain, which is at the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. Its use of water is unique among Chicago's many fountains, in that it promotes physical interaction between the public and the water. Both the fountain and Millennium Park are highly accessible because of their universal design. The fountain is a public play area and offers people an escape from summer heat and allows children to frolic in the fountain's water.