Cloud Gate
aka: The Bean
The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed "The Bean" because of its bean-like shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It is 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).
Source: Wikipedia
Even having seen pictures of this before visiting you're somehow not prepared for the scale of it until you walk up on it yourself. Unlike so many other public art projects, this one invites you to come close and touch and as you do so, the seamless surface creates the feeling of walking into a carnival mirror and you feel compelled to reach and touch your reflection. It's amazingly popular and as a result quite difficult to get a shot of without large numbers of people milling around.
Cloud Gate
aka: The Bean
The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed "The Bean" because of its bean-like shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It is 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).
Source: Wikipedia
Even having seen pictures of this before visiting you're somehow not prepared for the scale of it until you walk up on it yourself. Unlike so many other public art projects, this one invites you to come close and touch and as you do so, the seamless surface creates the feeling of walking into a carnival mirror and you feel compelled to reach and touch your reflection. It's amazingly popular and as a result quite difficult to get a shot of without large numbers of people milling around.