Cloud Gate: Chicago’s big “egg” sculpture at Millenium Park

Ever been to Chicago’s Millenium Park? If so, you’ve probably had some from at the “egg,” more properly known as “Cloud Gate.” My family and I just returned from a perfect three-day trip to Chicago, where we made two visits to “Cloud Gate,” a tremendously fun and interactive sculpture at Millenium Park.

cloud gate daytime buildings

According to this Millenium Park site,

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor’s first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a “gate” to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.

Cloud Gate invites you both to stand back and view the city and to reach out and touch your own reflection.

cloud gate touching reflections

The reflections can be simple, or complex if you enter the arched side of the “egg,”

cloud gate egg reflections i

or very complex.

cloud gate relections ii

My favorite Cloud gate photos are at night, however.

cloud gate night buildings

It is probably obvious that Chicago is one of my favorite places to visit, for many reasons (see here , here and here).

Thanks to my daughters for helping me with these photos . . .

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Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his two daughters.

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Avatar of Grace
    Grace

    What great photos! It's been a while since I've been to Chicago–my best memories include FREEZING in the wind of Michigan Ave and those fabulous Monets at the Art Museum. Now I'll have to add the EGG to my list of Must-sees. Thank you! G.

  2. Avatar of Martin
    Martin

    In Chicago (not Chi-town Mike), we refer to Cloudgate as "The Bean".

  3. Avatar of Mike Pulcinella
    Mike Pulcinella

    From Wikipedia:

    "Chi-Town" or "Chitown" — Pronunciation of this nickname can vary from /ˈtʃɑɪ.tɑʊn/ to /ˈʃɑɪ.tɑʊn/ (from chai-town to shai-town). (An ironic homophone to "shy-town".)

  4. Avatar of
    Anonymous

    I refer to it as Shitcago.

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