As summer ends, late-blooming Bean sprouts 'Cloud Gate' to be re-unveiled next week after months of work

The Bean is finally set to pop out of its shell.

On Aug. 28, "Cloud Gate," British artist Anish Kapoor's 66-foot-long, 33-foot-high sculpture in Millennium Park, is scheduled to shedthe giant tent that has shielded much of it from public view formonths while workers continued to grind and polish the seams betweenthe stainless-steel plates of its mirrorlike surface.

Although the Bean remains only 70 percent complete, most of thedetail work on its top and sides is done, making those areas appearperfectly smooth.

The Bean, whose projected cost has ballooned from $9 million toabout $20 million because of construction delays, will be entirelyaccessible to the public through Oct. 3. Workers will return then tofinish polishing the "omphalos," the vortex-like opening in thesculpture's underbelly, closing off its entrances with clear plastic.But the tent will be gone for good.

"The idea was to get the external part finished so it can beexposed to the public as soon as possible," Millennium Park directorHelen Doria said. "We definitely wanted it to be open for Labor Day,since September is such a great month in Chicago."

Long process got even longer

The Bean was first revealed to wide acclaim (though in incompleteform) when the park opened last summer, only to be concealed insidethe tent again when work resumed a few months later. The current re-unveiling is the latest milestone in an unexpectedly lengthy buildingprocess, which is being managed by Chicago-based U.S. EquitiesRealty.

U.S. Equities chief Robert Wislow said construction was slowed byseveral factors, including the discovery that more of the sculpture'scurving surface had to be sanded and polished than originallythought.

"Test samples showed that we had to grind and polish roughly 3 to4 inches on each side of each seam," Wislow said.

"When reality set in, we realized that in many cases we had to goas much as 12 inches on each side, which multiplied the squarefootage to be covered almost fourfold."

Completion is now expected by the end of winter.

"It's frustrating that it's taken as long as it has," said HenryKleeman, vice president of Millennium Park Inc., the group of privatedonors that is paying for the project.

"On the other hand, we're thrilled that it's about to be unveiledagain. It looks spectacular."