| Congress Street Viaduct and Plaza, Chicago |
 |
| Congress Parkway, a key element of the 1909 Burnham Plan for Chicago, forms a gateway from the Loop into Grant Park on axis with Buckingham Fountain. DLK provided design services, construction documents, and construction administration for the rebuilding of the Viaduct and restoration of the Plaza. We coordinated this work with numerous City
departments, the Chicago Park District, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Our team preserved much of Congress Viaduct and Plaza’s original fabric and honored the historic design by restoring the ornamental concrete railings, obelisks, and pylons and replacing lost historic elements, including lampposts and decorative paving. The linchpins of our design are two new monumental staircases in the Plaza that recall the original grand stair, which was removed in the 1950s. These new stairs provide a clear and ceremonial pedestrian entry to Grant Park, and encourage activity in the previously underused Plaza spaces. This project received a 1996 National Honor Award for Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects.
|