Millennium Park

When I was working in Chicago back in the late 90's, Millennium Park was just a vast open space on one side of Michigan Avenue.  Plans were in process but, they had just barely started work on the park.  Today it is a magical place for residents and tourists alike to experience and enjoy.  One of the most popular features is "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor located on the AT&T Plaza.  Chicagoans have dubbed it "the bean" for obvious reasons.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion is another popular feature.  This Frank Gehry designed bandshell contains 4,000 fixed seats and room for 7,000 more on the lawn.  It is named for Jay Pritzker whose family owns Hyatt Hotels.

Frank Gehry also designed the BP Pedestrian Bridge that runs through the park and crosses over Columbus Drive.  It is the first bridge that Gehry has designed.  It was funded by BP, plc. (British Petroleum).

The Lurie Garden is another feature of the park.  It is a 2.5 acre garden filled with perennials, bulbs, grasses, shrubs and trees.

All those wonderful plants successfully muffle the noise of a busy city and make you feel like you are actually in the country until you look up see all those tall buildings surrounding you.  The garden is named for Ann Lurie a Chicago philanthropist.

The Crown Fountain is a favorite with children and families.  As you can see from the photos, it's a great place so splash around in the water.

The fountain is an interactive, video sculpture.  Faces appear on the glass block towers and they smile and wink and then suddenly "spit out" a fountain of water from each of the tall towers.

The fountain is named for the Lester Crown family who were instrumental in the design selection and building of the fountain.    They supplied the 17 million dollars needed to build it.

Wrigley Square sits on the Northwest corner of the park near Michigan Avenue.  It features the millennium monument, a limestone peristyle monument rising 40 feet high.  The base contains the names of 91 contributors to the park who all contributed at least 1 million dollars for the park's development.  The William Wrigley Jr, Foundation contributed 5 million as did the most of the other benefactors I mentioned above.

Millennium Park is now a "must see" destination in the city of Chicago.  I find a way to visit it again on every trip I make to the city.

The Church at the End of the Street

If you have ever been to Santa Fe, you will most likely recognize this church at the end of this street. It is the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi or most commonly called the St. Francis Cathedral.

The church was built between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older church that was once destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again.  This church was built by Jean Baptiste Lamy.

Above the altar hangs the San Damiano Crucifix, a replica of one found in Assisi Italy.  Behind the crucifix is a panel filled with paintings of various saints with St. Francis of Assisi in the center.  (He's partially hidden in this photo.)

On the grounds of the cathedral are several sculptures and monuments.  This one commemorates the first European settlers of New Mexico, the Spanish Colonists of 1598.

This statue stands at the front entrance to the cathedral and represents Kateri Tekakwitha the first native American of North America to be elevated to a saint.  This statue is the work of sculptor Estella Loretto.

Paintings for the Future

Last week my post was all about the inspiring architecture of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.  In that post I mentioned that while I was engrossed in the genius of the building's design, I also enjoyed the current exhibit.

I always enjoy seeing the works of great masters that I can only see when visiting other cities.  However, it is something very special to be introduced to an artist I had never heard of before and to be so taken with her body of work.

The exhibit is of the paintings and drawings of Hilma af Klint a Swedish born artist who began painting abstract works in 1906, long before Kandinsky and others opened the door to that style.

Klint was convinced that the world was not ready for this style of art and because of that she stipulated in her will that her works not be shown for 20 years following her death.  However, it was closer to 40 years before her work was seen and began to receive serious attention.

This exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum is the first major solo exhibit of her work in the United States.

I found the whole exhibit fascinating.  Almost as fascinating as Klint's story and her belief that her art was way ahead of its time.  Klint became involved in spiritualism and Theosophy.  The Guggenheim describes her work as an "effort to articulate mystical views of reality."  I just found it to be the perfect display of work inside this perfectly designed building.

Art and Architecture

I've been to New York many times but, in all those prior visits I had never made it to the Guggenheim before last October.  For this trip, I made a point of getting there.  I had only seen photographs of this Frank Lloyd Wright designed building.  It was great to finally see it in person.

The building really is pretty spectacular to see.  For someone like me who loves patterns and the geometry of architecture, it was hard to put my camera down so I could view the art.

After spending a dizzying amount of time pointing my camera upward, I finally took a friend's advice and headed to the top floor so that I could slowly wind my way down admiring the art exhibit along the way.

Of course, that didn't stop me from looking over the edge to photograph all those patterns dotted with people from a different point of view.

At one point on the second level, there is a planter full of sansevieria plants.  I decided those plants would make a perfect frame for all those curves and layers in every direction around me.

I'll tell you a little about the art exhibit I saw there in another post.  For now, here is a tiny little peek between all those layers that gives just a glimpse of the artworks on display.

The United Nations

While I was in New York last October I walked over to the United Nations to see if we might be able to take a tour.  It would have been my second tour but as fate would have it, there was not another English speaking tour available until late in the day when another commitment called.

We did however, have time to tour the main building on our own and enjoy some of the many interesting things to see inside this famous place.

This wonderful statue of Nelson Mandela was not there when I visited before.

There is one observation point where visitors can peek into one of the many meeting rooms and observe a session.  On my last visit, there were no meetings going on so we only saw empty meeting rooms.  This was far more interesting.

This wall of flags was a great place for photo opportunities and I was lucky when these two adorable children plucked off a couple of flags and posed for their father.

I had forgotten about the Chagall "Peace Window" inside the main building.  It was a gift to the United Nations from UN staff members and Marc Chagall and it was presented as a memorial to Dag Hammarskjold.  I wonder if those missing panels are being restored.

Just outside the main entrance is one of Amaldo Pomodoro's "Sphere Within Sphere" sculptures.  There is one very similar to this one on the grounds of The Vatican.

Getting into the United Nations building was quite different than the last time I visited.  I had to go first to a security checkpoint across the street from the complex where I had to show identification and was photographed.  Then I wore a badge they printed with a very grainy photo of me on it.  The badge had my name, the date and Public Visit printed on it.  Then someone wrote 02 by hand on it and that covered me and my friend.  My friend did not have to be photographed and did not need to wear a badge.  That seemed a bit strange to me but it worked perfectly at all the checkpoints.

Another Look at Christmas in London

It's almost Christmas so I thought I'd pull out another Christmas season post from London.  When I visited the city in late November 2013, it was already in full holiday attire however, I'm pretty sure it gets even better as the month of December arrives.  The Queen's Guards at Buckingham palace were actually looking just a bit dull in their winter grays.

But those dull grey coats made way to bright lights and colorful decorations like this festive scene at Covent Garden.  It's a great place to shop or just to stop and listen to the music.

Harrods is always lit up at night drawing you closer to check out the window displays.

I always like to do a bit of window shopping in one of the arcades.  Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly Street is a favorite.  There are many beautiful things inside these small spaces.

Prince's Arcade is another place where window shopping is fun.  All of the arcades do a nice job of subtle, yet festive decor to bring the season to life.

And, I never miss an opportunity to visit Fortnum and Mason.  Whether it's the holidays or not, this place is a must for me on every trip to wonderful London.

On this particular trip to London, I visited the Queen's Galleries and after that, the Buckingham Palace gift shop.  Appropriately, the tree in there was decorated with royal crowns.

There is no question that London knows how to decorate for Christmas!

A Library of Distinction

When I was planning my trip to New York, I did an internet search of things to see and one of the things that came up that I had not seen before was the Morgan Library & Museum.  The photos on the website convinced me that it was a "must see".  The entrance is located on Madison Avenue at 36th Street and it leads into a modern area that joins together three historical buildings.  Those stairs to the far right of the above photo, lead to the original Morgan Library built between 1902 and 1906.  It was built as the private library of financier Pierpont Morgan.

The entrance foyer of the library feels like you are entering a church or some other holy place.

It is covered in marble. mosaics and topped with a grand dome.

The domed ceiling is surrounded by panels that tell biblical and mythological stores.  There is something to see in every direction.  You might get a bit stiff in the neck looking at it all.

His library office has a definite masculine feel with walls covered in red brocade and red velvet furnishings.  The large fireplace on one wall is crowned with a portrait of Pierpont himself.

But, it was the actual library room that drew me back for a second look after our tour had ended.  The walls are covered with bookcases with exception of this wall that is dominated by a huge tapestry.

The beautify of all those books sequestered behind glass doors and framed by polished dark wood was warming to my soul.  It felt like you could sit in the room and just absorb all the knowledge to be found in those millions of pages.

The Morgan Library is the only museum in the world to possess three copies of the Gutenberg Bible. Two of their copies are on paper (as above) and one is printed on vellum.  Considering there are only 50 copies remaining in the world, that is quite a legacy for the museum to protect.

I was very remiss in not getting a photo of the front of the original library from the 36th Street side so this miniature model will have to do.  It is as grand looking from the outside as it is from the inside.

There were many more things to see in the museum and I'll feature some of those things in a future post.  I'm so glad I made a point of seeing this amazing place.