(WBBM NEWSRADIO)— Summer events hopefully will begin revitalizing downtown Chicago as the city emerges from the pandemic, officials said Wednesday.
“Sundays on State” will start next month. State Street will be closed to traffic so that restaurants can expand outside. Similar moves are planned for Michigan Avenue.
“We’re creating these landing zones, right? We want you to have another reason to come down,” Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi said during a panel discussion.
Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly said Millennium Park will feature “low-fi” programming to entertain visitors.
“You just go into Millennium Park and there’ll be Chicago artists performing. A sense of whimsy and surprise and just reminding us the power of the arts,” Kelly said.
Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar predicted Chicago will enjoy a “reinvention” after COVID-19, similar to the way it came back after the Great Fire.
“I think that’s going to be an exciting feature of post-pandemic Chicago and will really be a torch-bearer in the future of what urban living will like,” Mayekar said. “That is going to be a bright spot coming out of a very dark time.”
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