CONGRESS PLAZA AND VIADUCT, GRANT PARK, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Congress Plaza is the ceremonial entrance to the Park. It was built between 1917 and 1930. The plaza was built as one continuous space with a gridded pavement. A grand monumental staircase connected the plaza to the level of Congress Viaduct. The staircase was framed by the two sculptures of the Indians. In the 1950’s Congress Drive was extended to cut across the plaza, eliminating the stairs and cutting the space in half. It was impossible to eliminate the road in order to restore the original unified plaza.

The renovation reasserted the ceremonial plaza by reinterpreting the urban context of the park. Across Michigan Avenue the Auditorium Building and the Congress Hotel symmetrically frame Congress Drive. From these buildings the plaza is seen as a symmetrical paved area like the terrace fronting a French Chateau. In keeping with this formal precedent, the area closest to the building is at a smaller scale and have a more intricate design, leading to an increase in scale of the park as one moves further from the building.

BRIDGE VIADUCT over METRA TRACKS

Like other parts of the urban infrastructure, the bridge viaduct spanning the Metra lines suffered from weathering and old age; the steel of the structure was corroded and the balustrade crumbled from salt damage. The bridge was completely rebuilt and upgraded to meet current safety standards; the balustrade was also rebuilt and historic lighting fixtures replaced the “cobra head” lighting fixtures from the 1960’s.

The parking lanes along the main street and the flanking side drives were unsightly and dangerous; cars slowing down to park interfered with the significant flow of traffic connecting to and from Lake Shore Drive. Ornamental Crab-apple trees were planted along the road west of the bridge to frame the view to and from Buckingham Fountain; this new panel was framed to relate to the new pavement pattern of Congress Plaza.