The 606, Chicago’s highly anticipated elevated park and public trail, will open this Saturday (on the sixth day of the six month, get it?) to the public with a day of festivities. Designed by Luis Benitez, the city of Chicago’s chief engineer, it will span between Ashland Ave. and Ridgeway at Bloomingdale Ave. The park and rail system features the Bloomingdale Trail, and will connect the communities of Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park. Once complete, it will include six ground-level parks, art installations, educational programming, and an event plaza.
For the closing of the celebrations, Chicago-based art practice Luftwerk, comprised of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Galler, was commissioned by the Trust for Public Land to construct a light show for the bridge. It came up with transLIT—which was inspired by fauna and flora—as a display of “motion, color, and light,” that will illuminate the Humboldt Boulevard Access Point. Original music for the show will be provided by Owen Clayton Condon.
Some of the noted events at the site this weekend include celebratory ribbon cutting at each access ramp, a procession featuring decorated bikes, community flag-making and flag-waving procession, live music, dancing, and temporary art installations.
Check out past works by Luftwerk, such as their event at Marina City and installation for Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.
