Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
Yes, the McCormick Garden is an excellent garden, but I don't know if I would call it a plaza. It's more softscape than hard, it can't really host events, and it's all about intimacy with little sense of openness. It is hard to imagine public celebrations or protests there.
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Exactly this. It sounds to me that most people here are trying to describe an entirely different type of space like a garden or park. If you want the features of a garden or park, fine, but don't try to redefine the word plaza to fit the description you are looking for.
The fact is no other public space in Chicago sees the kind of foot traffic and use that Daley Plaza does, period. If we define success by how much a public space is being used, then Daley Plaza wins hands down. I also don't buy the argument that programmed uses somehow "don't count" towards the success of a space as if all uses of a space must be organic and unorganized. That's just nonsense as programmed events are just as much a part of civic life as a protest or just looking for somewhere to eat lunch.
I do agree that Daley Plaza could use some better seating though. The current seating they have there is hideous and does not match the superior design of the Plaza and Building. I've always thought that a scattering of Emeco 1006's would be awesome if theft wouldn't be such a problem as I am sure it would be with a fancy chair that is made out of a profitable material to scrap. It would be cool if the city held a competition to design some new public seating that matches the aesthetic of the plaza, is relatively cheap to produce, and as functional as possible.