Opening Day of Millennium Park

Constructed over the train yards that once defined the city, Millennium Park is emblematic of Chicago’s shift from a city defined by modern industry, to one determined by finance, culture, tourism, and lifestyle. New landmarks such as Frank Gehry's Jay Pritzker Pavilion and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate have played an important role in redefining the “imageability” of downtown Chicago. But beneath these structures and the engineered prairie in which they sit, the Metra/Illinois Central tracks remain in use, channeling commuters and tourists to feed the commerce that underpins the city's venture into a global, post-material conception of urbanity.