Milton Lee Olive Park, A lakefront park in Chicago, US
Milton Lee Olive Park is a small green space on a man-made peninsula just north of Navy Pier in Chicago. It has five circular concrete fountains connected by diagonal paths, a wide walkway lined with honey locust trees, and a cantilevered deck with black granite benches that looks out over Lake Michigan.
The site was designed in 1965 by Dan Kiley and Joe Karr as a modernist public space, and it was named for Milton Lee Olive in 1966. Olive, a Chicago native, was the first African American recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, and the park has kept his name at the center of the lakefront since then.
On a small hill inside the park stands a sculpture called Hymn to Water, made by artist Milton Horn, that focuses attention on the role of water in city life. Visitors can sit nearby and watch the five fountains, each of which points to one of the Great Lakes through its simple concrete form.
The flat, paved paths make it a simple place to walk, and the open layout means wind off the lake can be strong. It is open every day from early morning until late at night, so an early or evening visit often means fewer people and softer light for looking across the water.
The whole park sits on top of the Jardine Water Purification Plant, one of the largest water treatment facilities of its kind, which means visitors are walking above a working piece of city infrastructure without seeing it. This unusual arrangement is why the five circular fountains and open-air design feel both spare and deliberate.
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