Take a look at the Orwellian nightmare you see above. Where are the loud speakers to voice the giant face’s many draconian edicts? Why aren’t its battalion of half-man, half-helicopter thought police standing at attention? Well, the simple answer is that this is not a vision of our bleak future. It is actually a really interesting modern water fountain called the Crown Fountain, located in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Take a look at our other pictures to see what it is like during the day.
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This is a modern artistic structure that explores themes in dualism. This spectacle is composed of two fifty foot towers the face each other. The inner facing surfaces are covered with LEDs to display a video image of a random face, which span both a variety of ages and ethnicities. The intended effect is that the faces are having a “conversation,” which exemplifies the amount of diversity in Chicago. It was named after the Crown family, who donated about 59% of the project’s budget. |
| Another interesting aspect of this outdoor water fountain is that it is also interactive. Its scale is huge, which means people can gather in their bathing suits (or birthday suits, if they can outrun Chicago’s finest) and enjoy the torrent of water. While video displays, water streams from the face. At other times, water cascades down the face. It is collected via the drain, filtered, and then recycled into the system. This allows its impressive twelve mechanical pumps to use a responsible amount of water during operation. |  |