On Austin Boulevard in Columbus Park sits one of two Tudor-style comfort stations that still stand in Chicago. Built in 1936, the Columbus Park Comfort Station currently is boarded up and used as a storage space for the park. This speculative proposal imagines a flag pole with a fabric flag installed on the lawn directly next to the station.
Utilizing field work and historic records, the flag itself draws on architectural motifs based upon the interior and exterior of the station. In contour, the flag’s shape is based on the gables of the building. As a means to advocate for the building’s future, this speculative public art project heightens the Columbus Park Comfort Station’s visibility to it’s local community and the larger city itself.
This proposal will be on view in the forthcoming exhibition 99/1 at the Chicago Industrial Design and Arts Center, organized by Roman Susan.
