The Chicago Loop may be the city’s business core, the home of groundbreaking architecture, and the center of a local, regional and national transit network, but is it the cultural heart of the city? From the moment I landed in Chicago three years ago, I have constantly heard stories from my Chicago-raised colleagues and friends about how the Loop used to empty out after office hours and was not a place to visit between Friday at 6 p.m. and Monday at 9 a.m. This tendency has diminished over the past decade with new festivals, cultural centers and recreational activities and the expanded use of Millennium Park, Grant Park, Art Institute, Chicago Cultural Center and a range of other institutions. Yet, I usually still leave the Loop for home at 6 p.m.…until last Thursday, Sept. 12, when the Chicago Loop Alliance gave me a reason to stay.
The Chicago Loop Alliance hosted a Pop-up Art Loop evening in the Loop’s Couch Alley, south of State and Lake. The event, called ACTIVATE, is the second placemaking initiative the Chicago Loop Alliance has undertaken as part of the Chicago Department of Transportation's (CDOT) Make Way for People program. The Make Way for People program aims to create public spaces that cultivate community and culture in Chicago's neighborhoods through placemaking. This was the City's first "People Alley” and I found the experience refreshing, engaging and fun. The event featured a DJ, an installation and temporary art pieces, a fashion show, and a bar. More importantly, I was transported to being a child when I discovered a life-size Lite-Brite installation that participants could design and interact with. I found myself reflecting on and discussing the potential for the Loop to be a culturally relevant center for all of Chicago residents, not just a weekend destinations for tourists. There is immense potential to engage Chicagoans in the many plazas, alley, and corners of the Loop; now it’s about creating constructive, safe spaces for people to do just that. Everybody loves vibrant destinations, whether they know it or not, and we applaud CDOT’s effort to make Chicago’s Loop a great place to live, work, and play.