# What building is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2011, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563 "2011-02-16T09:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/1 "2011-02-16T09:34:17Z")
What is [this structure](http://www.ericlevonian.com/untitled.jpg) on the Chicago waterfront? The image is a screencap from the TV series Prison Break. And what are the concentric circles on the lawn? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/2 "2011-02-16T09:51:09Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > What is [this structure](http://www.ericlevonian.com/untitled.jpg) on the Chicago waterfront? The image is a screencap from the TV series Prison Break. And what are the concentric circles on the lawn? The Adler planetarium, apparently: [Google Maps](http://goo.gl/maps/mhZq) No idea about the spiral shape, but they could conceivably be seats for astronomy presentations given from the center stone. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/3 "2011-02-16T10:20:46Z")
Oh yeah, thanks—I didn’t think to use Google Maps. So it’s actually 80 years old—remarkable. Can’t find any information about the circles, though. They appear to be permanent fixtures, as they can be seen in other photographs. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/4 "2011-02-16T10:46:43Z")
Are you talking about the white galaxy looking thing towards the bottom of your picture? If so, here ya go. [galaxy sculpture](http://www.artic.edu/aic/education/sciarttech/2b2.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/5 "2011-02-16T11:00:03Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Oh yeah, thanks—I didn’t think to use Google Maps. So it’s actually 80 years old—remarkable. Can’t find any information about the circles, though. They appear to be permanent fixtures, as they can be seen in other photographs. I found a large picture here: [http://v6.cache8.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/42798627.jpg?redirect\_counter=2](http://v6.cache8.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/42798627.jpg?redirect_counter=2) And here: [http://v6.cache1.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/35204483.jpg?redirect\_counter=2](http://v6.cache1.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/35204483.jpg?redirect_counter=2) The first shows a plaque, but it’s not quite readable :). The stones do look like they’re for sitting, but the center portion is definitely not for presenting. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/6 "2011-02-16T12:28:46Z")
Ah, so it’s Chicago’s answer to Stonehenge. Somehow that makes sense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/7 "2011-02-16T14:43:40Z")
The Stonehenge comparison is more apt than you might think. If you look at the [aerial view](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&hq=&ll=41.865639,-87.606535&spn=0.000641,0.001082&z=20) you’ll notice that there are gaps in the rows of stones that run from the center roughly northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. (The northwest one is the most noticeable to me in that picture.) These are the directions on the horizon that the Sun rises and sets on the solstices in Chicago. In other words, if you stood at the center on June 21st, the Sun would appear on the horizon between the northeast gap in the stones, and set between the northwest gap. Of course, you can’t really see the horizon [looking northwest from the Adler Planetarium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago_Skyline_Hi-Res.jpg), but it’s a nice thought nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![west\_town\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@west\_town\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/west_town_ed)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/8 "2011-02-20T03:04:48Z")
The “seating area” is simply a two-armed spiral galaxy. I wish that all the Hubble photographs I’ve been classifying on the Galazy Zoo were as easy to read. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-building-is-this/571563/9 "2011-02-20T18:45:07Z")
The stones are an [art installation](http://www.artic.edu/aic/education/sciarttech/2b2.html) called _America’s Courtyard_ by Denise Milan and Ary Perez.