Chicago River: North Bank / Public Art

Chicago River Esplanade / DuSable Founder’s Way
North Bank of Chicago River

The Chicago River Esplanade is located along the north bank of the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and the N Lakeshore Drive bridge. It’s officially named as “DuSable Founder’s Way”. It includes a continuous river walkway with a series of landscaped cascading plazas..

Chicago River Esplanade / DuSable Founder’s Way

The north bank of the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and the N Lakeshore Drive bridge is officially named as “DuSable Founder’s Way. It is named after Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable [1745 -1818] popularly known as “The Father of Chicago”, the first known non-native settler in the area which is now Chicago, Illinois. Du Sable was recognized by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago as the Founder of Chicago on October 26, 1968.

For more, click here.. and and here..

: DuSable Founder’s Way

: DuSable Founder’s Way

: DuSable Founder’s Way

: Pioneer Court

: Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable – by Erik Blome

: DuSable bridge/ Michigan Ave. bridge

Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

Location: Chicago River Esplanade in the north bank of Chicago River .
The Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain was built in 1989 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. It is is located at McClurg Court and the Chicago River.

For more, click here..

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

: Nicholas J Melas Centennial Plaza and Fountain

Chicago Rising from the Lake – by Milton Horn

Milton Horn’s bronze bas-relief is symbolic of the city of Chicago. The female figure represents Chicago emerging reborn from the bottom of Lake Michigan following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The sheaf of wheat, bull and eagle reference Chicago’s historic role as a center of commerce, the livestock market and air transportation, respectively. Floral forms evoke the city motto, “Urbs in Horto” or “City in a Garden.” Finally, the bronze ring arching across the relief represents Chicago’s central geography within the United States.

For more, click here..

: Chicago Rising from the Lake – by Milton Horn

: Chicago Rising from the Lake – by Milton Horn

: Chicago Rising from the Lake – by Milton Horn

Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable – by Erik Blome

Du Sable was recognized by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago as the Founder of Chicago on October 26, 1968.

For more, click here..

: Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable – by Erik Blome

: Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable – by Erik Blome

: Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable – by Erik Blome

Lily Pond at Trump Tower Plaza

Lily Pond with lilies, papyrus and other aquatic plants. I think it’s beautiful addition to the Chicago Riverwalk.

For more, click here..

: Lily Pond at Trump Tower Plaza..

: Lily Pond at Trump Tower Plaza..

: Lily Pond at Trump Tower Plaza..

Crossing – by Hubertus von der Goltz

This sculpture named “Crossing”, portrays an aluminum man precariously balanced atop a steel perch twenty-five feet in the air … This artwork addresses the complex navigation of life as we approached the millennium .. “Situated at the north end of Chicago’s financial district and the south end of LaSalle Street’s retail strip, Crossing provides a bridge between the global and the local business worlds, as well as public and private lives”.

For more, click here..

: Crossing – by Hubertus von der Goltz

: Crossing – by Hubertus von der Goltz

: Crossing – by Hubertus von der Goltz

Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame – by Various Artists

Bust sculptures of eight outstanding Americas. Eight heroic-sized busts of men, whose names or companies are well-known to American consumers, stand in tribute to this country’s remarkable system of merchandising. Mounted on tall pillars, the portrait-heads of these innovative Americans are positioned like sentries facing the entrance of The Merchandise Mart, the world’s largest wholesale buying center. To immortalize outstanding American merchants”, Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame.

For more, click here..

: Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame – by Various Artists

: Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame – by Various Artists

: Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame – by Various Artists

: Julius Rosenwald – by Charles Umlauf

: Frank Winfield Woolworth – By Milton Horn

: Robert Elkington Wood – By Minna Harkavy

Wolf Point and Y-Symbol

Don’t miss this! Stand on the Franklin Bridge and enjoy seeing how the Chicago River splits into North and South branches and see how the Municipal Device [Y-Symbol] originated..

For more, click here..