Mini City Unveiled by Chicago Architecture Foundation

By Benjy Lipsman in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 9, 2009 5:20PM

When we were kids, we built vast cities out of Legos. But our micro-sized towns could never have competed with the mini city that the Chicago Architecture Foundation will unveil to the public this week. The exhibition will be free to the public, and located in the atrium of the CAF at 224 S. Michigan Ave. The official public opening and reception will take place on June 11, from 5:30 to 7pm. The exhibit will remain open for viewing until November 20.

The 35-foot-by-25-foot Chicago Model City was built with the help of computers and a new three-dimensional "printing" process called stereolithography. Every building between Oak St. and 16th Street, from the lake to Ashland Ave., was recreated in tiny form, with the Sears Tower topping out at three feet in height.

Along with the model city as the centerpiece, the exhibit will also encompass five themes of Chicago's development -- Global City, Connected City, Green City, Beautiful City, and New City -- that touch upon the role transportation plays in city's growth and ways the city has tried to make itself a better place for us to live.