Crown Fountain will light up Millennium Park this weekend, and extensive off-season upgrades promise to make these colorful columns of faces even more wonderful to look at. The fountain, which consists of two 50-foot-tall glass block towers, will be turned on Saturday for the first time in 2017.
During the winter season, the Jaume Plensa-designed artwork received a $3.7 million renovation that, among other things, included the installation of new energy efficient LED screens capable of producing brighter, better quality images. The Tribune reported that the fountain will also feature hundreds of new glass bricks and fresh pavers on the surface of the surrounding pool. Along with the LED screens, newly added sensors will allow the fountain to adjust during sunny days and, hopefully, ensure that the faces displayed on the columns never appear to be washed-out.
Dedicated in July 2004, Crown Fountain is one of Millennium Park's best known attractions. It features a series of rotating images depicting the faces of 1,000 Chicagoans, which intermittently "spit" water into a small pool. If you're already out in the Loop this weekend, there's no better time to reacquaint yourself with one of Chicago's most iconic pieces of public art.
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