Chicago’s “Bean”

Although Chicagoans refer to it as “The Bean”, “Cloud Gate” is the official name of the public sculpture by Anish Kapoor in Millennium Park, Chicago. The sculpture is shaped like an ellipse, and has a legume-like appearance. It is made of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates, and stands at 33 feet high, 66 feet long, and 42 feet wide, weighing 110 tons.

In 1999, Kapoor’s proposal was selected by Millennium Park officials over that of fellow artist Jeff Koons. Then, once initial funding was secured, the steel plates for the piece were fabricated over a period of two years (2002-2004) in Oakland, California. Initially, the sculpture was to have been fully assembled in Oakland and shipped to Chicago through the Panama Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway, however, this plan was scrapped after park officials deemed it too risky. Instead, the piece was assembled on-site. The cost for the piece was first estimated at $6 million. This number ballooned to $11.5 million at the time of the park opening in 2004, with the final figure standing at $23 million in May 2006.