Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Jay Pritzker Pavilion is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The building was designed by architect Frank Gehry, who accepted the design commission in April 1999. The pavilion, which has a capacity of 11,000, is Grant Park’s small event outdoor performing arts venue. It is home to the Grant Park Music Festival, the nation’s only remaining free outdoor classical music series.

About Jay Pritzker Pavilion in brief

Summary Jay Pritzker PavilionJay Pritzker Pavilion is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The building was designed by architect Frank Gehry, who accepted the design commission in April 1999. The pavilion, which has a capacity of 11,000, is Grant Park’s small event outdoor performing arts venue, and complements Petrillo Music Shell, the park’s older and larger bandshell. The construction of the pavilion created a legal controversy, given that there are historic limitations on the height of buildings in Grant Park. To avoid these legal restrictions, the city classifies the bandshell as a work of art rather than a building. In 2007, Millennium Park trailed only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction. The Pavilion is home to the Grant Park Music Festival, the nation’s only remaining free outdoor classical music series. It also hosts a wide range of music series and annual performing arts events. All rehearsals are open to the public; trained guides are available for the music festival rehearsals, which are well-attended. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. It was named after Jay Pitzerker, whose family is known for owning Hyatt Hotels. The Pitzers founded the Pritzer Prize in 1979, and the Hyatt Foundation continues to award it annually to a winner of the design competition for the world’s best concert hall.

The first rock concert there was Tori Amos on August 31, 2005, and it is now the home of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the GrantPark Music Festival. The concert series began in 1935 in the original Petrillo music Shell. It has been Chicago’s front yard since the mid-19th century, and its northwest corner, north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute, had been Illinois Central rail yards and parking lots until 1997, when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park. The original pavilion design was much more modest than the structure that was eventually built, with a smaller shell structure and speakers affixed to poles interspersed throughout the seating area. In the end, the performance venue was designed with a large fixed seating area, a Great Lawn, a trellis network to support the sound system and a signature Gehry stainless steel headdress. It features a sound system with an acoustic design that replicates an indoor concert hall sound experience. The bandhell is built partially atop the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, with which it shares a loading dock and backstage facilities. The bandshell is located at 41°52′58. 83″N 87°37′18. 67″W 41. 8830083°N 87. 6218528°W) 41.8770083; -87. 62 18528°°W, or 41. 8730083.