{"id":823375,"date":"2026-08-23T18:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/823375\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T18:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T18:00:13","slug":"famed-sculptor-hired-to-build-dusable-statue-at-long-planned-lakefront-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/823375\/","title":{"rendered":"Famed Sculptor Hired To Build DuSable Statue At Long-Planned Lakefront Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOWNTOWN \u2014 A sculptor and architect have been hired to build a monument to Chicago\u2019s founder at a new lakefront park scheduled to finally break ground this year. <\/p>\n

The Chicago Park District has hired sculptor Branly Cadet and architect Rodney Leon to build a statue of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago\u2019s first permanent non-native settler, at the to-be-built DuSable Park. <\/p>\n

DuSable Park is coming to an undeveloped parcel of land at 451 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, near the mouth of the Chicago River. The park will include walking trails, gathering spaces and designed landscapes \u2014 as well as the statue of DuSable and other early settlers and Indigenous peoples, the Park District announced. <\/p>\n

Cadet will build a full-body statue of DuSable while Leon will support the statue\u2019s technical aspects, including its lighting, interpretive writing and base fabrication, according to the Park District. <\/p>\n

DuSable Park will also include other art installations honoring the park\u2019s namesake, his Potawatomi wife and cultural ambassador, Kitihawa, as well as other Indigenous voices. Interpretive signage and a history timeline are also part of the plans, the Park District said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThrough their visionary art, Branly Cadet and Rodney Leon will pioneer a powerful tribute to Chicago\u2019s first permanent settler, beautifully lifting up the rich diversity, deep history, and vibrant cultural stories of our city,\u201d Chicago Park District Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"\"Preliminary renderings for DuSable Park have been submitted to the Chicago Park District. Credit: Ross Barney and Brook Architecture<\/p>\n

\"\"New preliminary renderings for DuSable Park have been submitted to the Chicago Park District. Credit: Ross Barney and Brook Architecture<\/p>\n

The 3.5-acre park is on a small peninsula east of Lake Shore Drive. It has been in the works since 1987, when former Mayor Harold Washington gave the land to the Park District to develop a park in honor of d\\DuSable.<\/p>\n

The project finally moved forward with help from the development known as 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, a residential skyscraper project at the former Chicago spire site. The development finished exterior work this month on the first of two planned towers, the Sun-Times reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

Developer Related Midwest, which is building the 400 N. Lake Shore Drive development adjacent to the park land, is contributing $10 million to the $15 park project. <\/p>\n

Ross Barney Architects and Brook Architecture, selected as the lead design firms for the park in 2022, submitted their plans for the park in 2025<\/a>. Work is slated to begin this year and be completed next year, according to the Park District. <\/p>\n

\"\"New preliminary renderings for DuSable Park have been submitted to the Chicago Park District. Credit: Ross Barney and Brook Architecture<\/p>\n

Park renderings show it will be accessible from the lakefront trail, an expanded Riverwalk and a dedicated bus stop. The Riverwalk extension will be added as part of the construction at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, according to Related Midwest.<\/a><\/p>\n

The east end of the park will feature a boardwalk that follows the border of the peninsula, according to renderings released by Ross Barney Architects and Brook Architecture. The renderings show lush greenery resembling natural wetlands and prairie \u2014 native to Illinois \u2014 offering \u201ca glimpse of the landscape that DuSable and Kitihawa likely experienced when they arrived in Checagou (Chicago) around 1778,\u201d according to Ross Barney\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cadet\u2019s other sculpture work includes the \u201cArk of Return\u201d at the United Nations headquarters in New York City and \u201cThe Jackie Robinson Memorial\u201d at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, among many other works. <\/p>\n

Both Cadet and Leon are American-born artists of Haitian descent. The Park District, in its request for proposals, gave priority to those who, like DuSable, have Haitian descent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an African-American Architect of Haitian descent, this moment is especially meaningful and poignant,\u201d Cadet said in a statement. \u201cThis monument shall stand as a permanent reminder to future generations of DuSable\u2019s historic contribution and legacy to the founding and establishment of Chicago as one of the greatest cities in the United States of America and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DOWNTOWN \u2014 A sculptor and architect have been hired to build a monument to Chicago\u2019s founder at a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-823375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}