Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain (sometimes known as the "Squirting Faces") is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Its origins go back to 2004. The first to add nearby is Soldier Field, at 1.4 mi.
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A landmark inside Chicago
Winters are cold
January nights drop to 18°. When to go ↓
You can stay in Chicago
Crown Fountain is inside Chicago, which has 382 places to stay, so you won’t need a base farther out. Where to stay ↓
Best months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep and Oct
May, June, July, August, September and October are the mild months, with highs of 63–84°. When to go ↓
An airport 9 miles away
Chicago Midway (MDW) has airline service, about 9 miles from Crown Fountain.
Established in 2004
Crown Fountain dates from 2004. About ↓
Written from NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Overture places to stay, Census town figures, Wikidata and Wikipedia.
Warm months and cold ones
Below are typical highs and lows near Crown Fountain.
Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain (sometimes known as the "Squirting Faces") is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers. The towers are 50 feet (15.2 m) tall, and they use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display digital videos on their inward faces. Construction and design of the Crown Fountain cost $17 million. The water operates from May to October, intermittently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face.
- Type
- Landmark
- Established
- 2004
- Wikipedia readers
- 20K a year
Overnight near Crown Fountain
The first towns with rooms are Chicago (382) and Leyden Township (36).
- 1Soldier Field
- 2Wrigley Field
- 3Art Institute of Chicago
- 4Barack Obama Presidential Center
- 5United Center
- 6Rate Field
- 7Field Museum of Natural History
- 8Hull House
Compare 8 towns
| Town | From Crown Fountain | Drive | Places to stay | People | Typical home | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | in town | — | 382 320 hotels · 20 motels · 20 inns & B&Bs · 9 lodges & cabins · 8 hostels · 3 campgrounds · 2 RV parks | 2,731,585 | $334K | D |
| Leyden Township | 13 mi west | 20 min | 36 29 hotels · 7 motels | 90,402 | $288K | — |
| York Township | 18 mi west | 25 min | 52 45 hotels · 2 motels · 3 lodges & cabins · 2 campgrounds | 128,137 | $397K | — |
| Thornton Township | 19 mi south | 30 min | 46 32 hotels · 9 motels · 3 lodges & cabins · 2 campgrounds | 152,667 | $157K | — |
| Rosemont | 15 mi northwest | 20 min | 22 22 hotels | 3,815 | $345K | D− |
| Stickney Township | 11 mi southwest | 15 min | 12 11 hotels · 1 motel | 40,266 | $269K | — |
| Maine Township | 16 mi northwest | 25 min | 24 20 hotels · 1 motel · 1 inn or B&B · 2 campgrounds | 136,611 | $375K | — |
| Lyons Township | 14 mi southwest | 20 min | 18 11 hotels · 6 motels · 1 lodge or cabins | 112,345 | $364K | — |
Day trip from
Straight-line miles.
Getting there
Nearest airports with airline service
Worth adding to a visit
Every place here is under 7 miles away.
Big draw1in town Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw3in town MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a year
Big draw47 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw53 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw64 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
7in town MuseumField Museum of Natural History1.4M visitors a year
8in town MuseumHull HousePhoto credits
Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Field Museum of Natural History: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hull House: User talk:Hied5, Public domain
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Planning a visit to Crown Fountain
Is Crown Fountain in Chicago?
Yes. It’s inside Chicago, IL.
When is the best time to visit Crown Fountain?
May, June, July, August, September and October, with highs of 63–84°.
What is the closest airport to Crown Fountain?
Chicago Midway (MDW), about 9 miles away.
Where should I stay near Crown Fountain?
Chicago (in town, 382 places to stay), Leyden Township (13 mi, 36 places to stay) and York Township (18 mi, 52 places to stay).
Questions for Chicago
Share what you know in Chicago’s Town Square.
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · NOAA climate normals · U.S. Census.