SpaceCity Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallasite Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 My kind of town....Chicago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Where did Chicago miss the part about an up hill grass section? You can't see threw people's heads...Not smart, not a smooth move by the park's planners... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallasite Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 I think it is actually inclined just not noticeably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Houston needs its own giant bean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 Everybody needs a giant bean. They call it a "cloud" in Chicago. Evidently, all clouds in Chicago are shaped like beans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I live in chicago (burbs) - there is no incline down in Grant Park where they built this....there are some bridges that 'incline over the streets' so you can see it better but i don't suggest standing on them in traffic - unless you have had a bad day and decide that you want your last visual memory to be of a big silver kidney bean.....as for the "bean"....the developers say iti s to reflect the clouds and want it referred to as such....but we do indeed call it "the bean" - but since we only have sun about 10 days a year....it will keep busy reflecting clouds!!!I have not been to a concert there yet to see if the sound quality is really worth the wierd looking concert area....I will let you know when I have first hand knowledge of that! Overall - my personal opinion is that the entire project was not worth the money...taxes went up because of it...it sorta looks cool but mostly does not fit in (in my 'technical' opinion - LOL). Maybe it will just take some getting used to...I don't know And I have to tell you...the faces on those fountains spitting water is just disturbing in my book!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 And I have to tell you...the faces on those fountains spitting water is just disturbing in my book!!!<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Are you referring to the lady with the red face? I thought she was a Public Service Announcement showing the hazards of UV rays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallasite Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I live in chicago (burbs) - there is no incline down in Grant Park where they built this....there are some bridges that 'incline over the streets' so you can see it better but i don't suggest standing on them in traffic - unless you have had a bad day and decide that you want your last visual memory to be of a big silver kidney bean.....<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I stand corrected. I thought I had read somewhere that it was inclined. My bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Are you referring to the lady with the red face? I thought she was a Public Service Announcement showing the hazards of UV rays...<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Those two wall fountains face each other and the faces on them change and they make different expressions and at one point, they make an "o" with their lips and water spits out like it is coming out of their mouth! very very disturbing...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I stand corrected. I thought I had read somewhere that it was inclined. My bad.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>you know...they did make some sidewalks that are above street level going thru it....so i guess there are higher vantage points than the street. you know...i do have to say that they planted a TON of flowers and plants to spruce up the place around MP - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 you know...they did make some sidewalks that are above street level going thru it....so i guess there are higher vantage points than the street. you know...i do have to say that they planted a TON of flowers and plants to spruce up the place around MP -Actually, the entire park is 45 feet above a Metra (suburban commuter) rail yard. Walking into the park from the street, you don't notice it. The Pritzker Pavilion and the BP Pedestrian Bridge are by Gehry.Here are some informative links from our sister site Chicago Architecture Info:Millennium Park overviewCloud Gate (the bean)Millennium MonumentCrown Fountain (the spitting fountain)BP Pedestrian Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Everybody needs a giant bean. They call it a "cloud" in Chicago. Evidently, all clouds in Chicago are shaped like beans.The artist calls it "Cloud Gate" because 80% of the surface reflects the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Where did Chicago miss the part about an up hill grass section? You can't see threw people's heads...Not smart, not a smooth move by the park's planners...The grass gently slopes downhill toward the stage. I know because I've been there for a concert already. If you look at the photo, you can't see the thousands of seats in rows around the stage because of the slope. The "Great Lawn" slopes just enough that you can see over the person in front of you. Unless that person is using a lawn chair instead of a blanket. It's the outdoor concert equivalent of a Ford Excursion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The metra rail yard has always been below street level so I guess I don't consider MP being elevated anymore than I considered Grant Park elevated - it is all at street level. And I will give you the 'gentle slope' aspect I guess...hehe...I grew up in central PA so anything more than a gentle slope requires a 4x4 to get up...everything looks pretty flat in this part of the country.How is the sound system there? Concert-wise...was it as good as they were saying it would be??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 The metra rail yard has always been below street level so I guess I don't consider MP being elevated anymore than I considered Grant Park elevated - it is all at street level. And I will give you the 'gentle slope' aspect I guess...hehe...I grew up in central PA so anything more than a gentle slope requires a 4x4 to get up...everything looks pretty flat in this part of the country.How is the sound system there? Concert-wise...was it as good as they were saying it would be???It's so good that you don't notice that it's good. I know that' strange, but when somethingn "just works" you shouldn't notice it.I sat up close for the first part of the performance, then when I'd gotten back from the men's room my patch of grass was taken, so I had to go to the back. In either location, there was no echo whatsoever. It all sounded perfectly the same, which was the goal of the designers. No echo. No diminution of sound quality. I think they got it right, at least with the sound system.I don't know how they're going to keep that grass green with all the tourists stomping across it. But I guess that's their problem, not mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I need to be sure to check out a concert there before we move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 There are some quirks in the park's design (you have to expect it) but I love the sentiment behind it, and I think it's location is great as well. My trip there last year, when they were still constructing it, provide some bonechilling effects. I can only imagine the vibe now that it's finished.I agree about the broad on the building, though. Not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 There are some quirks in the park's design (you have to expect it) but I love the sentiment behind it, and I think it's location is great as well. My trip there last year, when they were still constructing it, provide some bonechilling effects. I can only imagine the vibe now that it's finished.I agree about the broad on the building, though. Not necessary.It's not always that broad. There are 999 other people it rotates through, and sometimes shows nature scenes like waterfalls. It's not a building. More like a monolith with an integrated video system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanLandscape Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Everybody needs a giant bean. They call it a "cloud" in Chicago. Evidently, all clouds in Chicago are shaped like beans. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ha ha, I have my own bean! Well, she's bean-shaped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtmbin Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Stayed at the Hotel Burnham in Chicago this summer with a view of Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion from my room's window. FANTASTIC! We visited MP every day of our weeklong stay. Bravo to Chicago. The criticism that MP was overbudget? So what. It was behind schedule? What isn't? It is more than worth it. I'd gladly pay higher taxes for a permanent addition to Houston's sorry public amenities that was as incredible. One way or another I'm paying for the disastrous Katy Freeway project, the concrete mess that will become the new West Loop, the embarassingly derivative Minute Maid Park, the boring and bland Toyota Center, the completely graceless Reliant Stadium, the so bad they hurt trio of new Harris County court buildings, and on and on ... For once it would be wonderful to see the hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent on public infrastucture in Houston be spent on AMAZINGLY designed projects instead of the crap that we almost always get. Anybody remember the effort to make the forth-coming Montrose bridge over US59 be something truly special instead of just another copy of the four that already exist? Calatrava perhaps? What a great statement it could have made for Houston as a gateway into the city's awesome Museum District. It didn't even come close to happening because no city official would back an effort to raise the additional funds. Typical.Chicago's elected officials have a vision for the city and for the future of their city that Houston's leaders can't even comprehend. So do the elected officials of Dallas, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, and countless others. Houston is a joke when it comes to expenditures for enhancing quality of life. We deserve better.The forum has been abuzz lately about the fate of the Superblock in Midtown. Just think about that for a minute. Chicago builds Millenium Park and we are all hoping, praying desperately for a little greenspace and maybe a wider sidewalk than usual in an area whose reconstitution has the potential to set Houston on a course to true urban greatness- and it most likely won't happen. Be honest, can you even begin to imagine Houston accomplishing anything even remotely comparable to Chicago's Millenium Park? In your lifetime?Houston will NEVER be world-class as long as we have short-sighted do nothing city council members like Michael Berry who, for instance, just led an attack on the library department to reduce the budget for renovating the 30 yr old central library from a paltry $12.5M to a ridiculous $10M. This at a time when Seattle, for instance, is garnering priceless amounts of positive worldwide press after opening the new $150M central library designed by Rem Koolhaas.(http://www.spl.org/images/slideshow/NewCentralSlideshow.asp.) Houston leaders cannot in their wildest dreams imagine building something similiar that would benefit soo many people across every socio-economic and cultural strata.BUT, if you suggested that only millionaires would use a new multimillion dollar library and that billionaires could make even more money off of it, they'd be falling all over themselves issuing bonds to build it. Witness the over $1 billion dollars that was spent building the aforementioned Reliant Stadium, Minute Maid Park, and Toyota Center. A billion bucks primarily for the playing of assorted balls. On a design note: have you read many articles from the national or international press heralding the greatness of the architectural achievements we've produced with those facilities and that billion dollars? Yeah, right. Houston's leaders have no vision. Their idea of progressive government is to reduce library hours, close public pools, and plant grass in vacant lots and call them parks; all so they can brag about reducing your property taxes by fifty cents per month. That's what they accomplished last fiscal year. Where is Houston's Jesse Jones or Roy Hofeinz for the 21st century?Again, Bravo Chicago! To experience anything quite so wonderful Houstonians will have to do what we've always done: Leave town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceCity Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 as for the "bean"....the developers say iti s to reflect the clouds and want it referred to as such....but we do indeed call it "the bean" - but since we only have sun about 10 days a year....it will keep busy reflecting clouds!!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Shame on you for exposing my ignorance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojeaux131 Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Stayed at the Hotel Burnham in Chicago this summer with a view of Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion from my room's window. FANTASTIC! We visited MP every day of our weeklong stay. Bravo to Chicago. The criticism that MP was overbudget? So what. It was behind schedule? What isn't? It is more than worth it. I'd gladly pay higher taxes for a permanent addition to Houston's sorry public amenities that was as incredible. One way or another I'm paying for the disastrous Katy Freeway project, the concrete mess that will become the new West Loop, the embarassingly derivative Minute Maid Park, the boring and bland Toyota Center, the completely graceless Reliant Stadium, the so bad they hurt trio of new Harris County court buildings, and on and on ... For once it would be wonderful to see the hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent on public infrastucture in Houston be spent on AMAZINGLY designed projects instead of the crap that we almost always get. Anybody remember the effort to make the forth-coming Montrose bridge over US59 be something truly special instead of just another copy of the four that already exist? Calatrava perhaps? What a great statement it could have made for Houston as a gateway into the city's awesome Museum District. It didn't even come close to happening because no city official would back an effort to raise the additional funds. Typical.Chicago's elected officials have a vision for the city and for the future of their city that Houston's leaders can't even comprehend. So do the elected officials of Dallas, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, and countless others. Houston is a joke when it comes to expenditures for enhancing quality of life. We deserve better.The forum has been abuzz lately about the fate of the Superblock in Midtown. Just think about that for a minute. Chicago builds Millenium Park and we are all hoping, praying desperately for a little greenspace and maybe a wider sidewalk than usual in an area whose reconstitution has the potential to set Houston on a course to true urban greatness- and it most likely won't happen. Be honest, can you even begin to imagine Houston accomplishing anything even remotely comparable to Chicago's Millenium Park? In your lifetime?Houston will NEVER be world-class as long as we have short-sighted do nothing city council members like Michael Berry who, for instance, just led an attack on the library department to reduce the budget for renovating the 30 yr old central library from a paltry $12.5M to a ridiculous $10M. This at a time when Seattle, for instance, is garnering priceless amounts of positive worldwide press after opening the new $150M central library designed by Rem Koolhaas.(http://www.spl.org/images/slideshow/NewCentralSlideshow.asp.) Houston leaders cannot in their wildest dreams imagine building something similiar that would benefit soo many people across every socio-economic and cultural strata.BUT, if you suggested that only millionaires would use a new multimillion dollar library and that billionaires could make even more money off of it, they'd be falling all over themselves issuing bonds to build it. Witness the over $1 billion dollars that was spent building the aforementioned Reliant Stadium, Minute Maid Park, and Toyota Center. A billion bucks primarily for the playing of assorted balls. On a design note: have you read many articles from the national or international press heralding the greatness of the architectural achievements we've produced with those facilities and that billion dollars? Yeah, right. Houston's leaders have no vision. Their idea of progressive government is to reduce library hours, close public pools, and plant grass in vacant lots and call them parks; all so they can brag about reducing your property taxes by fifty cents per month. That's what they accomplished last fiscal year. Where is Houston's Jesse Jones or Roy Hofeinz for the 21st century?Again, Bravo Chicago! To experience anything quite so wonderful Houstonians will have to do what we've always done: Leave town.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>YES. exactly. everything you have said is true. the optimistic houston lover in me doesn't want it to be true, but it is. if you haven't gone to houstondowntown.com, go there and write exactly what you wrote here. i have already contributed to the survey a few times. we need to yell at the idiots in charge of the city until they come up with something like chicago's awesome millenium park. living cheaply in a city doesn't mean jack squat if the city looks like total ass. word, jtmbin, word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 I agree, I wish our leaders would really try to make our quality of living higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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