Soldier Field Memorial, Chicago

I don't know if this is new, or if I just never took notice of this before. Just south and across the street from the Field Museum, on the outskirts of Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears play football during NFL season, stands this memorial to our U.S. veterans. See the kid with the football? Notice how nicely that fits in with the function of Soldier Field the sports park? Well, I prefer hockey, and so where are the hockey stick and puck? Where is the Chicago Blackhawks logo? Just joking--well, I do enjoy hockey. I am not a military fanatic, and I much prefer peace to war, and while I do feel we need to question a drastic course of action such as waging war, I also think it's beautiful to honor those men and women who risk their lives to serve our country. This memorial, I think, does so beautifully.

Soldier Field Memorial, Chicago, IL

I have to say that while I always knew the name of this sports park is Soldier Field, I always thought the choice of the name to be something random, without much meaning or significance. This memorial to U.S. vets proves me wrong. In recent years, thanks probably to former Mayor Daley's efforts to increase botanical beauty in the city, plenty of trees have been planted around Soldier Field, which also has a beautiful water feature on one of its walls just behind this memorial. Maybe the tree plantings were part of the effort to create the Museum Campus consisting of the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium, I don't know. I do know, however, that the result has been an increase in beauty in the area around the museums.

Soldier Field Memorial detail, Chicago, IL

I love the detail on this memorial. Look at the dramatic detail on the human figures, such as the woman's braids and the wave effect of her locks of hair, look at the lifelike expressions on all of their faces. And what's best, look at the John Hancock Center and the Chicago skyline, bringing a local accent to a national memorial. Beautifully done!