Built: 2004 Cost: $17,000,000 Designed by: Jaume Plensa Type: Monument Maximum Height: 49 feet / 15 meters Maximum width: 24 Maximum depth: 16 feet Location: Michigan Avenue at Randolph, Chicago, United States
Building Rating 80% of readers like the Crown Fountain.
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O ne of the most interesting pieces of interactive art in Chicago, the Crown Fountain at first mystifies, then embraces, and then (if you don't mind getting a little wet) immerses the viewer in art. Two 50-foot towers flank an ever-so-slightly sunken plaza. From the tower pour a continuous shower of water that fills the plaza to a depth of one-eighth of an inch -- enough to be fun, but not enough to ruin your clothes should you choose to walk through it, which is encouraged. The water pours down the towers glass block exterior in a cascade on three sides. The fourth side features banks of red, green, and blue LEDs that when viewed from a respectable distance give the illusion of projected video. During daylight hours, the faces of one-thousand Chicagoans are displayed on the towers one at a time. Each persists for 13 minutes, and during the final minute, their lips purse and a spout of water shoots from their mouths. A cascade of water falls over the faces, and a new one is revealed. These people were selected and filmed by students from the Art Institute of Chicago. They were not told they would be part of a fountain. Instead, they were instructed to act as if they were blowing a kiss. Whatever works. At night, the water does not shoot out of the mouths, and the image is not of Chicagoans, but of pastoral waterfalls and streams while the towers other surfaces glow in changing colors.
The fountain is named for the Crown family, which contributed $10,000,000 toward its construction.
Each tower is made with 10,000 glass bricks.
The fountain uses 11,520 gallons of water per minute.
Imane Nadir
Monday, February 11th, 2008 @ 10:00am
Rating: Five stars. I´m a student of Interior design, and my Volume teacher just introduded us this today. I´m impressed, I really think it´s amazing architectonically as emotionaly... I would really like to experiment that in a summer day or night :)
Jim
Friday, February 8th, 2008 @ 10:41pm
Rating: Five stars. $10,000,000 to endorse something that you can get a fine for if you are caught doing so in public. Personally, I think the fountains after which this interesting conversation piece was created were far more a contribution to the art world. However, there is no accounting for taste -- which this object d'art proves.Yet, freedom of expression should never be censored as long as it is done without harming others.So let the fountain spit as the thrill seekers get a good soaking. $10,000,000 worth.
bonky
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 @ 10:56pm
i think this is so beautiful and and unique. it was so much fun when i went there.. didnt know it cost that much though
eddie
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006 @ 1:14am
Rating: Five stars. This fountain is an amazing piece. It is a great place to watch people during the summer months. I took my niece & nephew there in the summer to play.
Marilyn Hayden
Thursday, August 26th, 2004 @ 7:11am
Rating: Two stars. Way too big. Idea "cute" but who need cute that large? About i5" tall would make people GO there and paticipate--too distracting on such a large scale. I am a portrait artist and I like this use of a human face, but--too late I say CUT!
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Imane Nadir
Five stars.
Jim
Two stars.