Special Collections and Preservation Division
Neighborhood History Research Collection
Millennium Park Inc.
Crown Fountain Series
Introduction | General | Opening Weekend | Jay Pritzker Music Pavilion/B.P.
Pedestrian Bridge | Cloud Gate | Lurie Garden
Millennium Monument and Wrigley Square | Harris Theater | Exelon Pavilions
Boeing Galleries | Audio-Visual | Artifacts
Historical Note
| Name: | Crown Fountain |
| Artist: | Jaumé Plensa, Barcelona, Spain |
| Architect: | Kreuck Sexton Architects, Chicago, Illinois |
| Engineer: | Halvorsen Kaye SE, Chicago, Illinois |
| Dimensions: |
Two towers, each 50 feet tall, 23 feet wide, 16 feet deep. The "skin pool" is 232 feet long, 48 feet wide. Approximately 28,000 glass bricks, each 5" tall, 10" long, 2" thick. |
| Cost: | $17 million [includes $10 million from the Crown Foundation] |
Crown Fountain is comprised of two rectangular towers of glass brick at either end of a reflecting, or "skin" pool. Behind the glass brick, light emitting diodes (LED) project changing images on the two facing sides of the towers. Mostly people's faces are shown and periodically a jet of water shoots out of their mouths into the reflecting pool. In tandem with the jet of water, a large volume of water cascades down each tower drenching those below. The skin pool measures 232' long by 48' wide.
| o/s A13 |
Proposal for Crown Fountain by Wet Design, 1999. Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s A14 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, whale, n.d. 15 ¼" x 10". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s A15 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain, light study, n.d. 14 ½" x 11". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s A16 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, man's face with jet of water coming from his mouth, n.d. 15 ½" x 10". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s A17 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, whale, n.d. 14 ½" x 11". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s A18 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing 4 possible images, n.d. 13 ½" x 10 ½". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s D12 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, man's face, n.d. 36" x 24". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s D13 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, man's face with water spout from mouth, n.d. 36" x 24". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
| o/s D14 |
Presentation board, digital rendering of Crown Fountain showing possible imagery, woman's face, n.d. 36" x 24". Research copies may be made, for any other reproductions permission must be obtained from the Artist. |
Audio-Visual
Photographs
| 1.1- 1.24 |
Color photographs, mock up of Crown Fountain to see the scale and impact of one tower, c. 2003. Photographer: Ed Uhlir. |
Artifacts
| 2006.14 |
Architectural Model, Crown Fountain, by Jaumé Plensa, showing two towers and trees, c. 2001. |
| 2006.15 |
Architectural Model, Crown Fountain, interior of one tower, detailing inner components and presentation of working parts combining the structure of the tower, water management parts, electrical, electronic and optical elements, c. 2001. |