What This City Needs Is a $2 Million Bullfrog
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In Chicago, of course, few dreams are easily realized, and Weiskopf knows he faces an uphill battle to put his 35-foot-tall and 75-foot-wide green frog where he says it belongs. But he hopes he can find enough friends of this frog to make the sculpture a reality. The architect first detected some interest in his vision after putting a sketch of the frog on his 1989 Christmas card. As the responses flooded in from his curious friends, he decided to leap forward with the idea and contacted a construction company for an estimate. He was quoted a ballpark figure of $2 million, pricey for a bullfrog, but it would be built out of the same materials used to construct swimming pools–concrete sprayed over a steel frame and enveloped with a greenish coating that would last approximately 25 years.
The way the Park District bureaucracy is now organized, Weiskopf’s bullfrog would first have to be approved by the volunteer Park Public Art Advisory Committee. That committee, formed last fall, is composed of art professionals from such institutions as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the DuSable Museum of African-American History, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The committee’s mission, according to Park District architectural historian Will Tippens, is to determine what kind of art is appropriate for Chicago’s parks. The committee has only met a couple of times, so there is no track record as yet to indicate what kind of response Weiskopf’s admittedly whimsical proposal might provoke.
In the restaurant and bar business, it helps to have a sympathetic landlord. Rich and sympathetic is even better. The First National Bank of Chicago chipped in more than a few dollars to help cover the cost of remodeling the bar at Nick’s Fishmarket, one of the bank’s restaurant tenants in First National Plaza. “The bank recognizes the importance of ensuring that we are a successful establishment,” says Nick’s Fishmarket managing director Steve Karpf. The new bar now hosts performers such as pianist Russ Long, who management hopes will entice weekend customers who want to linger after dinner and down a few drinks. Like many downtown establishments, according to Karpf, Nick’s wants to offer as many reasons as possible for customers to dine in the Loop. The Phantom of the Opera at the Auditorium has helped Loop restaurant business, says Karpf, and bar entertainment is another option restaurateurs are using to fill out the evening.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Steven D. Arazmus.
