Millennium Park, Urban park in the Loop, Chicago, United States
Millennium Park is a public green space in the Loop district of Chicago, covering ten hectares in the northwestern corner of Grant Park between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive. The park consists of several outdoor performance spaces, sculptures and landscaped areas arranged across two levels and connected by pedestrian walkways.
The site belonged to the Illinois Central Railroad from 1850 to 1997 and was transformed into a public park under Mayor Richard Daley. Construction began in 1998 and the park opened to the public in 2004, though originally planned for completion in 2000.
The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Frank Gehry's bandshell, has 4,000 fixed seats and lawn seating for 7,000 more, giving a total capacity of 11,000. It hosts the Grant Park Music Festival and summer concerts; the park's Christmas tree lighting has been held here since 2015.
The park opens daily from 6 AM to 11 PM and is accessible via the Washington/Wabash metro station located directly at its eastern edge. A public parking garage sits beneath the park with entrances on Columbus Drive and Michigan Avenue.
The park was built entirely above an underground parking garage and active rail lines, making it technically the largest rooftop garden in the world. The construction required special support structures and drainage systems capable of bearing the weight of soil, trees and thousands of visitors.
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