Millennium Park

This guide to Millennium Park in Chicago goes behind the artwork to the financing crisis that nearly buried the project: a budget that blew past its promise, a fired contractor, and a 2000 phone call from Mayor Richard Daley asking Sara Lee's John Bryan to raise the rest from Chicago's wealthiest names. Bryan turned naming rights into a fundraising drive, selling founder listings on the Gehry-designed pavilion behind you. Look for the small plaques scattered around the park crediting the donors who paid for what you're standing on.