Perfection at Pritzker Park

A perfect day at Pritzker Park on State Street, across from the Harold Washington Library Center.  So far, our initial fears that this space would be overrun by vagrants and trashed by vandals have proved to be unfounded.

The park at 344 South State Street is holding up well, and we hear there are plans being studied to make the beverage kiosk a permanent fixture.

More Concessions Coming to Chicago's Parks

Depending on your viewpoint, Grant Park is going to either get more convenient, or continue to be overrun by crass commercialism.

Either way, more concessions stands are opening up on Chicago's front lawn this year and in 2010.

There will be a new concession stand at 11th street soon.

Also under consideration is one at Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road, and maybe one near the Agora sculpture (many headless people) in the southwest corner of the park.

These are in addition to the revamped concession stands surrounding Buckingham Fountain.

Also, over in DuSable Harbor the new harbor house is getting a restaurant.  It will be operated by another restaurant in Wicker Park and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Right now, it will only be open for the summer, but if it works out there are plans to keep it open year-round.

If you haven't been over to the DuSable harbor area in the last year or so, things have changed a lot.  It's been cleaned up a lot, there's a bridge over the former pedestrian path from the New East Side, and a stepped up police presence along with new bathroom facilities.

And another park is getting some food.

The newly-opened Pritzker park is getting a cafe.  It's a partnership between JC Decaux, the company responsible for most of the city's street furniture, and the Chicago Park District.  The cafe will be designed by the famed Robert A.M. Stern Architects firm in New York.  The project is considered an experiment, and if it works out may be expanded to other city parks.

Pritzker Park Opens

After years of hope and months of work, Pritzker Park opened last week on State Street across from the Harold Washington Library .

The pocket park is a welcome patch of green in a portion of the city that has been rapidly improving over the last couple of years.

It remains to be seen if the space will be overrun by touts and vagrants, but we have high hopes that this will be a focal point for the local community.

As detailed in an upcoming blog post later this week, this will be the location of a new cafe -- an experimental partnership between the Chicago Park Department and JC Decaux, the company responsible for Chicago's bus shelters and other street furniture.

Status Update: Pritzker Park

The large patch of fenced off grass on State Street that used to be an open-air toilet for vagrants is rapidly being turned into Pritzker Park.

Construction started back in the snowy (OK, "snowier") months and for a long time seemed to involve nothing more than moving all the dirt into a big pile.  These days, cement trucks are on the scene pouring the foundations for what will become seating areas and pathways.

The plan calls for concession stands in the park selling coffee and newspapers.  DePaul was at one time thinking of putting on free jazz concerts here.  There will be meaningful quotes carved into the back wall.

But don't get used to using the whole thing -- only the rectangle facing State Street is permanent.  The rest of it on Plymouth Court can be sold to a developer at any time.  Not surprisingly, some city officials are already drooling at the prospect of renting out the entire park to private interests, the way Millennium Park is sometimes closed to the public so that Allstate and Toyota can throw parties.

That little area really needs a park, and one that can smell the wifi from the Harold Washington Library Center would be ideal.  I only hope it's taken care of.

Between the DePaul kids across the street, the drifters used to sleeping on that turf, and various flavors of suburban "sk8rbois" who like to pretend the ultimate methods of expressing urban hipness are through skateboards and spraypaint, it just seems doomed.  If this park doesn't have full-time guard service like at Millennium Park , it might well be all for naught.

The park was designed by Doug Hoerr Landscape Architects.
Construction is paid for with TIF funds.