One of Chicago’s most famous landmarks is coming back having been closed for almost a year.
The Bean, officially known as Cloud Gate, went under construction back in August of 2023 for “necessary maintenance” which included replacing pavers and revamping the surrounding Grainger Plaza in order to “enhance the nearly 20-year-old Park’s appearance, visitor experience, and position as the #1 attraction in the Midwest.”
There have been chain link fences and tarps surrounding the Bean ever since, impeding any photographs or views of the Bean while construction work was underway.
That work was originally intended to be finished in time for an April reopening but that was then pushed back to a spring opening. Now, with work nearly complete, it was this week announced that the $23 million sculpture by Anish Kapoor will open to the public once again after over 10 months of closure.
“We are happy to share that final Plaza construction work is nearly completed on a comprehensive rebuild of the Plaza podium including new stairs, accessible ramps, paver replacement, a waterproofing system, and accessibility upgrades to Grainger Plaza,” said a spokesperson. “Weather-permitting, we expect to reopen the Plaza to the public before the end of the month.”
City officials will be hoping to have the Bean open as soon as possible now that the start of summer in Chicago is only days away and Millennium Park has a host of events taking place in the coming week especially the park’s 20th anniversary celebrations in July.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
Stay tuned to the DCASE website for any updates.