You may find it hard to find a spot to throw your wishful pennies, but Crown Fountain at Millennium Park should top your bucket list of must-see Chicago fountains. Completed by Spanish Artist Jaume Plensa in 2004, this fountain is unique because of its use of modern mixed media (light, LED display and water). Even if you've seen this now-iconic masterpiece, be sure to check it out again after it's renovation this winter. The technology has been updated with new energy efficient LED screens that adjust to light levels, making for a more consistent viewing of the rotating images. Pack a swim diaper and change of clothes because the fountain's two 50-foot glass-brick towers joined by a 232-foot long granite pool invite visitors to ditch their shoes and take a respite from the summer sun. The faces appearing on the towers were taken from a cross-section of 1,000 Chicago residents and are modern interpretations of traditional gargoyles in fountains from which water, a symbol of life, flows from an open mouth. The fountain is open daily from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. and the water flows mid-spring to mid-fall.
201 E. Randolph St.
Millennium Park
312-742-1168
Online: cityofchicago.org
photo: Crown Fountain by Chris Oakley via Flickr
