Sep. 17 - An Afternoon in the Park - 1

 

Chicago downtown's neighborhoods are all established or named in terms of their locations relative to either Lake Michigan or the river. My temporary place is in a new part of downtown called New River East - it used to be a golf course between the river (on the left) and the lake (on the right). My building is, by foot, minutes away from either Millennium Park or the lake. Although the neighborhood lacks intimate corner bakeries or affordable grocery stores, being in the center of all the glamorousness (Midwestern style) more than makes up for it. Personally I think this area is the best bit of the C town.

 

This weekend is sunny and dry. And after one gloomy week's rain and clouds, it feels like summer all over again. I decide for both of us that we should go take a stroll and after EP puts together a goody bag (books, snacks and water) off we walk, to the park.

 

Millennium Park is an extension of the Grant Park. It used to be some junkyard or wasteland filled with old rail tracks and such. A few years back the current Chicago mayor initiated a renovation project on this part of the city. And instead of building a gigantic parking lot, as advocated by many, to alleviate the downtown parking pains, the mayor favored the design of a park on top of an underground garage.

 

The resulting park includes, among others, a garden, an in/outdoor stage and two innovative water fountains. However, in spite of its obvious beauty the park has been criticized as in need of a coherent theme. This criticism targets at the unorthodox but pragmatic approach the city took in building the park - the city allowed the wealthy donors build sections of the park using their own preferred designers and then named the sections in reference to themselves. The outcome, per some, is that the park is a random collection of distinctly inconsistent pieces.

 

All this drams makes good anecdotes but nothing else to a lay person like me. I find the park serene and a jewel in the heart of an already attractive city.