Chicago Public Library
Special Collections and Preservation Division
Neighborhood History Research Collection
Millennium Park/U.S. Equities Realty Collection
c. 1999 - 2005
54 linear feet
Historical Note | Scope Note | Provenance | Access
Box Summary | Box and Folder Inventory
U.S. Equities Realty is an international commercial real estate firm, headquartered in Chicago, with a demonstrated passion for art and architecture. Since its founding in 1978 by Robert A. Wislow and Camille P. Julmy, the company has been responsible for a number of major projects in Chicago, including the development of the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library Center, the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago, co-development of One Financial Place in Chicago, and the redevelopment of the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower.
In spring 1999, U.S. Equities Realty was retained by Millennium Park Inc., the group representing the Park's private donors. In this role the company managed the entire design and engineering phases of the Jay Pritzker Music Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry, as well as Gehry's
In addition to managing the Frank Gehry projects, U.S. Equities Realty oversaw the extremely intricate engineering and fabrication of Anish Kapoor's monumental Cloud Gate as well as the design, construction and production of Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain. The firm also acted as the donor group's advocate on all city-administered work and construction affecting the Park's enhancements.
In addition to development and project management, U.S. Equities provides asset management and leasing services, real estate consulting and financial and investment services. Its
Additional Information
For further information about U.S. Equities Realty, researchers are encouraged to consult the company's website at www.usequities.com.
For a brief history of
For a detailed history of the Park, researchers can read Timothy J. Gilfoyle's Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark, published in 2006 by the
For information about the construction of
For a thorough history of the international garden design competition for
The U.S. Equities Realty Collection consists of sixteen CDs with over 6,000 photographs that document construction of most major sites in
With funding from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation these photographs have been fully described. Over 5,000 were selected for the Library's website at http://www.chipublib.org/images/millennium-park/index.php. The grant also provided resources to print the images on 8 x 10 Kodak Endura paper, which meets optimum preservation standards for color prints. The prints are available to researchers in the Reading Room of the Special Collections and Preservation Division.
The images have been arranged by site and then by "chapters" that describe the stages of construction; for example,
| Crown Fountain: | ||
|
Renderings and Models... | ||
The dates of the photographs were extracted from automatically generated metadata that accompanied the digital photographs. In some cases these dates refer to the date the photos were downloaded from the camera, rather than the date they were taken. Photographs with no date in the metadata were assigned a "circa" date based on the original file name and by reviewing similar images.
Each photograph is assigned a unique number; for example, Cloud Gate 2003.4.21.3. This photograph of Cloud Gate was taken in 2003 on April 21st and is the third image made that day.
In addition to the photographs, the collection has a folder with reproductions of informational panels displayed outside the tent that covered Cloud Gate during the final polishing and sanding in 2004 and 2005.
The U.S. Equities Realty Collection was donated to the Chicago Public Library in 2006 by U.S. Equities Realty. It was processed in 2008 and 2009 with a grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation which was awarded to the Chicago Public Library Foundation in 2007. The photographs in this collection are courtesy of U.S. Equities Realty and the men and women who built Millennium Park.
The U.S. Equities Realty Collection is available for research in the Reading Room of the Special Collections and Preservation Division on the 9th floor of the Chicago Public Library's
| Photographs | ||
| Cloud Gate | 19 Boxes | |
| Crown Fountain | 42 Boxes | |
| Jay Pritzker Pavilion | 17 Boxes | |
| B.P. |
14 Boxes | |
| Millennium |
2 Boxes | |
| Lurie Garden | 1 Box | |
| McCormick |
1 Box | |
| General Construction | 1 Box | |
| Full Park | 1 Box | |
| Documents | ||
| Cloud Gate, informational panels | 1 Box | |
| Documents | ||
| Box 1 | ||
| Folder | 1 | Reproductions of informational panels placed around Cloud Gate explaining the final sanding and polishing processes while the sculpture was completed, c. 2005 - 2006 |