There are certainly other places I enjoy. I spend hours every weekend reading and swimming at Promontory Point, I stop most nights on my bike ride home to take in the night skyline on the 18th Street bridge, and there are a few others I prefer to remain undiscovered. But when it comes right down to it, many of the places I enjoy don’t attract enough other people to be labeled “public.”

Then there’s this courtyard (check it out on Google Maps, it faces 55th Street, just west of Lake Park Avenue). It isn’t exactly “public” either, given that the courtyard sits in the middle of a privately-owned shopping center. But that’s where the private aspect largely ends. Every morning there is a constant flow of people—old and young, all races, homeless and mansioned, families and singles, cyclists and walkers, readers and talkers, bird-feeders and bird-shooers, would-be artists and would-be art critics … everyone, including the odd Nobel Prize Winner—in and out of this courtyard. A half dozen benches are oriented toward a small, burbling fountain, while a dozen or so tables are scattered about and easy to move around, enabling groups large and small to congregate, debate or satiate any number of gastronomic urges.

People come to grab a coffee at a Francophile’s dream, the Bonjour Cafe and Bakery, where the entire staff speaks French (the cookies are dry, but everything else is great).  Others come to the toy store, bike repair shop, optometrist, or the post office. Others just come to be around others.  Some sit for minutes and sip their coffee, some sit for hours as friends and neighbors come and go. Kids chase pigeons, and pigeons chase kids, and the dogs don’t know what to do.

Just the way it’s positioned, if you’re on foot coming from the south or west, you basically have to walk through the courtyard to get to the grocery store, drug store, and hardware store on the northern, more auto-oriented side of the complex. That makes for casual interactions, a momentary respite from streets, cars and buses, and for many, the easy decision to come back the following weekend and have a croissant before heading off to buy detergent.

Having the public there isn’t enough, and I give all the credit in the world to the owners of center, because on any given weekend there are art, book or plant sales. I’ve seen blues acts, African drummers, and something akin to rockabilly on a small stage by the fountain. In winter, many Hyde Parkers trek there to buy wreaths and Christmas trees. The grocery store next door often roasts a pig on a spit at the northern end of the courtyard, which makes for one of the city’s more unique conversation starters. The frequent active activity makes for a fun change of pace from the more sustained passive activity.

So here’s what I propose: This coming Saturday, put on some sun block, toss a book in a backpack, and ride your bike down the lake to 55th Street. Have a pastry, enjoy a coffee, and just sit and read. That’s all you have to do. The neighborhood will come to you if you go to where the neighborhood goes.

So, what’s your favorite public space? Snap a photo or shoot a video today and submit it to  placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org.

Many of Chicagoland’s most cherished public spaces are tucked away in the hearts of neighborhoods, known only to a lucky few. This summer, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) and Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) want to shine a spotlight on these special places across Chicagoland through the “What Makes Your Place Great? Your Secret Corner of Chicagoland” contest.

From June 2 through July 26, 2010, entrants can e-mail original photos or videos showcasing their favorite undiscovered public places across Chicagoland, along with a 250-word-or-less description, to placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org. The four chosen winners will win a prize package that includes passes to the Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago History Museum, or CAF – and the chance to be featured in a CAF tour this fall.

MPC and Placemaking Chicago are grateful for the generous contributions of our sponsors and donors: The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, and Perkins+Will.

http://www.metroplanning.org/news-events/blog-post/5905

12 Free Places to visit in Hyde Park:

1. 57^th Street Art Fair and Hyde Park Community Art Fair – June 5th and 6th.  Join artists and art lovers at Chicago’s oldest juried art fair in the streets of the historic Hyde Park neighborhood and visit the annual arts and crafts fair that runs next to the Art Fair on 57^th Street.
2. Friends of the Blackstone Library. Free events and presentations at the Library, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave.
3. Hyde Park Art Center at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. It is the oldest alternative exhibition space in Chicago with on going exhibitions, events, and activities for all ages.
4. Hyde Park Historical Society.  Open on weekends at 5529 S. Lake Park Ave., offering exhibits and information about the unique history of Hyde Park.
5. International House.  Founded in 1932 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., it is a dynamic program center and residence hall offering a variety of free events at 1414 E. 59^th St.
6. Little Black Pearl at 1060 E. 47th St. is a cultural arts center providing opportunities in art, culture and entrepreneurship to youth, adults and families across Chicago.
7. Oriental Institute Museum at 1155 E. 58th St., is a world-renowned showcase for the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Near East.
8. Renaissance Society.  The Society at 5811 S. Ellis Ave., Bergman Gallery, Cobb Hall 418, is actually an exhibition space presenting art seldom seen in the Midwest showing the most recent developments in contemporary art.
9. Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. is a magnificent tiled Gothic cathedral and their carillon is the single largest musical instrument ever built.
10. Smart Museum of Art at 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. houses a permanent collection of over 10,000 objects, spanning five millennia of both Western and Eastern civilizations.
11. Special Collections Research Center in the University of Chicago Library at 1100 E. 57th St. exhibits rare books, manuscripts, University Archives, and the Chicago Jazz Archives, and special programming.
12. The Opportunity Shop temporarily located at 1530 E. 53rd St., is a transitory, experimental project space for contemporary art in Hyde Park.

Nicole Mitchell at Little Black Pearl

by Shamontiel L. Vaughn

I am an accidental jazz lover. An ’80s baby, my favorite music was hip-hop and R&B exclusively, although I could handle some country. I grew up listening to music like Rakim, The Temptations, MC Lyte and Marvin Gaye, but I don’t recall ever bobbing my head to jazz. After I graduated from college, I noticed mediocre rhyming in hip-hop was increasing and R&B was turning into singing rap music. I became burnt out on the radio until I flipped to a Chicago jazz station and found out I could add jazz to my favorite genres of music.

A few of my co-workers lived in Hyde Park and would invite me to get-togethers in their neighborhoods. Now mind you I’d never been thrilled with Hyde Park because I always managed to get lost anytime I went there. But like a trooper, I gave it a shot and started going to the area more.

What I noticed (once I figured out which streets to use to get back to Lake Shore Drive) immediately was the diversity and culture in the community. I started reading more about the Hyde Park community and found HyPa’s web site by accident. That’s how I also found out about the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. Curiosity made me volunteer for the 2009 jazz fest. What did I have to do that was so important that I couldn’t dedicate one Saturday to jazz? Nothing.

On September 26, 2009, that’s when I realized it wasn’t just jazz I loved but the Hyde Park community, too. Sitting on the stoop at Hyde Park Union Church and watching different cultures of various generations interact and shout out “hey” when they saw someone familiar made me smile. Quiet as it’s kept, big cities can have camaraderie if we try. After I finished my volunteer work, I strolled around to other venues and realized Hyde Park is not just diverse but also a really beautiful neighborhood.

After that day, I came back more and more to write about different events. I also volunteered for more HyPa jazz fest events. There are some venues from the jazz fest that I’d have probably never visited if not for HyPa. Being both a volunteer and a new-found jazz lover has helped expand my mind and matured my musical tastes. Nowadays I don’t go a day without turning on some smooth or upbeat jazz to get my mind right. I’m still a hip-hop head at heart, but just like Hyde Park, there’s nothing wrong with variety.

For more info on this writer, visit http://www.shamontiel.com.

HyPa welcomes guest commentaries about Hyde Park arts and cultural activities.  If you are interested please contact us.

Here is a sampling of the current offerings:

Dance!

The Kalapriya Center for Indian Dance teaches Bharata Natyam, the ancient dance form of India that uses stylized hand gestures, theatrical facial expressions, intricate footwork and complicated rhythms and counter rhythms to visualize storytelling.

Paint!

The Hyde Park Art Center offers visual arts classes and camps for students of all ages and skill levels interested in painting, drawing, photography and more!

The Smart Museum regularly offers free single day programs for adults and families including a Family Nature Day and Sketching at the Smart with live models.  Visit the Smart website for lists of additional activities and lectures.

Learn!

Which Ancient Civilization Invented Writing?

You can find out by taking the Oriental Institute’s class on the History of Writing or if you are interested in Alexander the Great, consider the class on the History of Greco-Roman Egypt.  You can learn that and more at the Oriental Institute Museum.

Design!

Inspire your budding architects’ creativity at the Robie House as they use LEGO® Architects to create a 3D model of a floor plan and learn design concepts such as scale and proportion. $5 per child ages 6+.  Free for accompanying adult. Every third Saturday (except May), 10 am – 12 pm.

The above are just a sampling of the myriad of arts and culture activities available.

Discover!

Browse the web sites of any of our 45 members to see what else is available.

Celebrate!

Visit the arts.uchicago.edu site daily starting April 6, for featured events, opportunities to win season subscriptions, art catalogues, tours and more. Discover the arts that get people talking.

On the 7^th you will be surrounded by the antiquities of Mesopotamia and Egypt at the Oriental Institute and on the 12^th you will be in the heart of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s prized Robie House. That is the magic of the Passport events – they are all in the unusual settings of the HyPa members.

Last month the Greg Spero Trio delighted the audience at the Robie House with a memorable evening of jazz. Following the event, Greg wrote HyPa an email and said that the, “love and appreciation in the room made it a spiritual evening for me and my band.” In addition, Greg was so taken by the experience that he donated a percentage of his CD sales to the Robie House!

So what are you waiting for … go pick up your Passport!

Little Black Pearl is sponsoring a free, outdoor community festival of live entertainment, food, merchant and service vendors with fun activities for all ages. Performing artists include American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress, Nona Hendryx; jazz drummer, composer, and record producer Terri Lyne Carrington; and American soul, jazz, gospel singer and pianist, Oleta Adams.

Event takes place at Mandrake Park, 39th St. & Drexel Ave., Chicago. Saturday, August 21, 11:00am-10:00pm.  This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center, 1060 East 47th St., Chicago. For more information: www.blackpearl.org.

The Smart Museum of Art’s outdoor sculpture garden, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago. Sunday, August 15 at 2:00pm.  This event is free and open to the public.

The Smart Museum of Art’s outdoor sculpture garden, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago. Sunday, July 18 at 2:00pm.  This event is free and open to the public.

Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., Chicago. Friday, June 11, 2010. 8:00pm-12:00am (midnight). This event is free. For more information, please call 773-324-5520 or visit www.hydeparkart.org.