Small Chopin Garden & Statue to Be Built Between 11th Street Pedestrian Bridge and Michigan Ave. in Grant Park

A new status and garden will be coming to Grant Park in between the 11th street pedestrian bridge and Michigan Avenue according to the Gran Park Conservatory.  The statue and garden pays homage to the Polish virtuoso pianist Frederk Chopin:

The Chopin Statue at the Chopin Garden is a 5/8 replica of the bronze statue found in the Royal Baths Park in Warsaw, Poland. I was designed by Wacław Szymanowski in 1906 but had to wait until 1926 to be erected. During World War II that statue was destroyed by the Nazi's in an effort to break the Polish spirit. Luckily the original mold surivived allowing for the statue to be reproduced and placed at the original location in 1958. The styiized willow echoes Chopin's hand and fingers.

At the statue's base, since 1959, on summer Sunday afternoons are performed free piano recitals of Chopin's compositions. This is a popular tradion attend by both tourists and locals. 

The Chopin Garden project is inspired by the Chopin Statue and piano concerts that occur in the Royal Baths Park. The Chicago Chopin Foundation wants to bring this experience to Grant Park in Chicago. Chopin is a universal figure whose musical gift is celebrated around the world.

Seems like a nice addition to the south portion of Grant Park.

The blueprints seems relatively straight forward:

And it seems only fitting that we conclude this post with a video from one of Chopin's finest. If you're like us, sitting at the office dreading your Tuesday, may we suggest hitting play, closing your eyes and dreaming of a lazy spring Saturday afternoon in Grant Park listening to this:
And now back to the grind...