Center piece of Chicago's Millennium Park, the Bean is just this side of incredible. I saw it again for the first time yesterday on a trip to the city. Actually I saw it first in 2004 when the bean was unveiled that summer and it was pretty incredible but when you looked closely you could see all the seams and things holding it together. So for a year and something around $17MM the artist had a crew make it a seamless and an even more amazing piece of civic artwork. The stainless steel structure is just magnificent. The reflections alone are worth a visit but even more fun are the people attracted to the park.
And if that's not enough there is the Pritzker stage and amphitheatre, the amazing walkway over to the lake, the skating rink that doubles as a cool outdoor restaurant in the summer, and the video towers and pool at the south end of the park. Give me a camera on a sunny day and I could be there for hours.
Mayor Daley has a lot of critics and I can't say I always agree with him on things, but its hard to dispute the work he has done to make Chicago a beautiful, safe, and clean city. And he's make public spaces so much more inviting and you can see that people are taking advantage of them.
