CHICAGO, IL — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) today announced that Chicago’s most-visited attraction, Millennium Park, will begin cautiously reopening on Monday, June 15, with safeguards and best practices from the Chicago Department of Public Health to ensure the safety of guests and staff. The park will be open daily, 8am to 9pm, for groups of 10 persons or fewer who practice social distancing and wear face coverings. Neighboring Maggie Daley Park, managed by the Chicago Park District, will also reopen on Monday, June 15.

“Millennium Park is one of Chicago’s great attractions and we are tremendously excited to have it take this first step in cautious reopening,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “As we continue to navigate the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, our hope is to be able to take even further measures over the coming weeks and months to allow residents and visitors alike to enjoy its array of wonderful and iconic features in a way that’s engaging and fun, while also being safe for themselves and the broader public.”

Millennium Park areas open to guests will include the Chase Promenades, the Boeing Galleries and Lurie Garden. Crown Fountain and Wrigley Square will also open, but without active water features. Cloud Gate (also known as "The Bean") may be viewed from a distance from Chase Promenade Central. At this time, the Great Lawn, the Welcome Center, the McDonald’s Cycle Center and the BP Bridge between Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park remain closed. Since access to the public restrooms at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is closed, a limited number of portable toilets and handwashing stations have been added at Chase Promenade North. The Park Grill Café will open soon for limited to-go service.

For the protection of visitors and to prevent congregating, guests of Millennium Park will be required to enter at Michigan Avenue and Madison Street and exit at Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. If capacity is reached within the Park, the entrance will temporarily close, and guests will be asked to wait in physically distanced lines for entry into the park. Both the entrance and exit will have accessible ramps and staff to ensure one-way park access, monitor capacity and reinforce social distancing and mask wearing. Additionally, social distancing ambassadors wearing lime green shirts will help provide information and remind patrons not of the same group of the need to stay six feet (about two meters) apart.

Guests are urged to enjoy the park safely, and signage will be posted to remind everyone of important safety measures. Face coverings will be required at all times. Signage and social distancing ambassadors will remind visitors to follow all guidance from the Chicago Department of Public Health to protect against spread of the coronavirus, including frequent hand washing, avoid touching their faces with unwashed hands, and covering their noses and mouths when sneezing or coughing. As always, anyone who is feeling unwell should not enter the park and should stay home.

While in-person programming is limited this summer, Millennium Park’s music, arts and recreation programs are moving online for Chicagoans and visitors to enjoy from home or virtually. The “Millennium Park at Home” series on YouTube (youtube.com/ChicagoDCASE) and Facebook (@MillenniumParkChicago) continues with a genre-defying Music Series featuring Sam Trump, Nola Ade, DJ Duane Powell, Dee Alexander, Khari B., The Junius Paul Quartet, Jon Langford, The Braided Janes, Zeshan B, Sen Morimoto and other local musicians on Thursdays (June 18 and 25, and July 9, 16 and 23, 6–7:30pm). Blues Music performances by Melody Angel, John Primer, Toronzo Cannon and others have been rescheduled for July 31–August 2, 6–8pm. Additionally, Workouts — a weekly schedule of rotating Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates and Zumba© classes— will take place online Saturdays (through August 29, 8–9am). “Millennium Park at Home” is supported, in part, by a Chicago Community Trust grant, the Millennium Park Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

The popular Grant Park Music Festival is also reimagined as Festival Remixed including weekly Wednesday-night radio broadcasts with longtime partner 98.7WFMT, as well as live and on-demand video streaming on select dates from June 10 through August 14. The series, curated by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar, features the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and an array of special guests. For more information, visit gpmf.org.

Millennium Park is located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south. For the latest news and events, visit millenniumpark.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @Millennium_Park.

For more information and updates on the City’s response to COVID-19, text COVID19 to 78015, email coronavirus@chicago.gov or visit chicago.gov/coronavirus.

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Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events 

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors. For more information, visit chicago.gov/dcase.