Aug 3, 2009 6:25 pm US/Central
Millennium Park To Unveil Burnham Pavilion Tuesday
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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The Burnham Pavilion in Millennium Park celebrates the centennial of architect Daniel Burnham's Chicago plan.
CBS
The shining shape of the "Cloud Gate" sculpture in Millennium Park has proved to be a big draw for a lot of people. But now, "The Bean", as it's affectionately called, could be facing some serious competition. CBS 2's Derrick Blakley explains.
At Millennium Park, work crews are taking off the wraps and packing up their tools. The ethereal, futuristic Burnham Pavilion opens to the public on Tuesday.
But if not for one man, it might not have opened at all.
"It was already delayed so the challenge was to get it done within the time period, by August 1st," said Gordon Hill of Fabric Images.
Millennium Park itself opened four years behind schedule and $300 million over budget. So it may be tradition that when Hill got the call a month ago, all that existed was a complex aluminum skeleton, and even that was structurally unsound.
"We had to add about 300 crossbars and weldments, and redo 19 out of the 24 trusses, along with adding all the fabric to it," Hill said. "We kind of re-engineered it."
The brainchild of superstar architect Zaha Hadid, the pavilion is 90 feet long, 60 feet wide and 20 feet high, covered by a stretchy, synthetic fabric that's literally zippered together. It celebrates the centennial of architect Daniel Burnham's Chicago plan.
"Chicago's going to be very excited to have yet another work of art here in Millennium Park," said Emily Harris, Burnham Plan Centennial.
The powers that be wouldn't let CBS 2 actually take a camera inside, but the curvy walls will function as a video screen at night, featuring a seven-and-a-half minute presentation about the Burnham Plan and Chicago's future.
Gordon Hill says all that last-minute construction drama could have been avoided.
"I guarantee you if they called us first it would have been done on time," Hill said.
Hill's company replaced the original contractor that either bailed out or was kicked out when they couldn't get the project finished.
Starting tomorrow, the Burnham Pavilion will be open until October 31st.
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