When I went to Chicago several years ago I got a glimpse of Millennium Park in Chicago from my bus window and it looked intriguing. When I went back last weekend, it was on my must-see list. I’m not sure why. I’m not a huge fan of modern architecture, but I still wanted to see how it looked in person.

My son, who lives in Chicago, was showing my husband and me the sights. We lived in the Chicago suburbs 30 years ago, but a lot has changed. We entered the park from Michigan Avenue and walked up to the Crown Fountain. At first I was just amused by all the children (and a few adults) playing in the water and then was surprised by the faces that are projected onto the 50 foot glass block towers. This fountain was created with collaboration between Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist, and Krueck Sexton a Chicago architecture firm. Pensa selected photos of Chicago citizens for his work. While we watched, the woman’s face pursed her lips and it appeared that she was spitting water. I have to admit I was so impressed by the display that I didn’t take a photo. I did take a picture of the next face that came up.

We walked up a short flight of stairs that took us to Chase Promenade and an art piece called Cloud Gate. Or, as it is known locally, “the bean.”  Cloud Gate is designed to look like liquid mercury. It is a bean shaped structure with amazing reflective capabilities. It was a beautiful, clear sunny day, we saw the sky, the skyline and the faces of children and adults who were fascinate by it. Children lay underneath it and delighted in seeing multiple reflections. The faces of the adults reflected similar amazement.

From there we walked over to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion (designed by Frank Gehry). The stage portion of this area is made up of a tumble of stainless steel ribbons. There are a small number of seats and then it opens up to great lawn. On this particular day there was a celebration of circus performers. Performers were on stage as well as throughout the park. It was clear this was a meeting place for parents and play space for children. There were a lot of picnickers enjoying the sunny day. I didn’t notice, but my husband and son commented later on the young girls that were sunbathing there.

We sat on a bench to enjoy the sun, admire the Pavilion and marvel at the skyscrapers, which serve as the background to this setting. We made the short walk over to a sculpture by Ben Van Berkel. It is a white sculpture with angles and curved edges. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not much of a fan of modern art so I can’t say I saw the deep purpose of this piece, but it did make for a nice background for photos and you can go up a ramp for an up-close and personal view.

Next to that sculpture is the Nichols Bridgeway, a pedestrian bridge, which leads over to the new wing of the Chicago Museum of Art. It has a metallic look and allows you to have a great view of the Lurie Garden.  We crossed the bridge and left the park.  I didn’t cross the BP Bridge, the marvelous, shiny, snake-like pedestrian bridge from the park to Daly Bicentennial Plaza.

Millennium Park is filled with reflective surfaces. From the liquid mercury look of Cloud Gate, to the ribbons of stainless steel of Prizker Pavilion to the brushed stainless steel of BP Bridge. I know I’ll come back to explore more of this park. There is a lot more that I didn’t have time to see.

This is a great park. Central Park in New York certainly ranks up there as one of the best.  Which city park knocks your socks off?