Millennium Park Bike Station in the Press: The 2003–2005 Archive and What Followed

A new building draws a trail of press. The station kept its own trail: a page of clippings that began in June 2003 and ran to February 2005.¹ That log is reproduced below in full, grouped by year, then extended through the closing of the public station. The Station hub holds the rest of the archive, and the history tells the story the clippings circle.

2003: the plan

The four oldest items on the 2006 version of the old Articles page predate the station’s 2004 opening. They were the Chicago Tribune’s June 13, 2003 report “Bike depot plan may turn commute into easy ride”; a Chicagoland Bicycle Federation notice dated October 7, 2003 for a “Millennium Park Bicycle Station Public Meeting”; a November 6, 2003 item, “Bicycle Station for Millennium Park,” from the New Eastside Forum; and the federation’s own 2003 page, “Facility Design and Implementation.”¹

2004: the opening year

The page logged 30 items for 2004.¹ The first, on March 17, 2004, was the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s own “Millennium Park Bicycle Station.” The cluster around opening week is the densest.

Date	Headline	Outlet
Mar. 17, 2004	Millennium Park Bicycle Station	Chicagoland Bicycle Federation1
July 15, 2004	A user’s guide to Millennium Park	Sun Times1
July 18, 2004	Bicycle Station	Chicago Tribune1
July 19, 2004	Daley Opens New Millenium Park Bicycle Station	Public Building Commission of Chicago, press release1
July 20, 2004	Millennium Park bike garage, showers makes biking Chicago even easier	ABC7Chicago.com1
July 20, 2004	CATS Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Events and Resources	CATS Periodical1
July 21, 2004	Show Log	The Steve Dahl Show1
July 27, 2004	Chicago Lures Commuters Into Cycling	NPR1
Aug. 2004	The Wheel Deal	Transportation Alternatives1
Aug. 1, 2004	EXTRA, EXTRA/Chicago’s safe haven for bicycle riders	PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc.1
Aug. 4, 2004	Cycle America/Nat Bicycle Greenway (NBG)	NationalBicycleGreenway.com1
Aug. 25, 2004	The Perfect Place For Serious Bikers	VirtualTourist.com1
Sept. 3, 2004	Chicagoland Bicycle Federation Bike Culture Lecture	Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s Bike Bulletin1
Sept. 4, 2004	Free Lecture: “Millennium Park Bicycle Station: An Unexpected Gem”	Chicago Athlete Regional News1
Oct. 2004	A Park With Wheel Appeal	Recreation Management Magazine1
Oct. 2004	Chicago Opens State-of-the-Art Bicycle Station in Millennium Park	The Bombay Bicycle Club, vol. 30, issue 41
Nov. 18, 2004	Architectural Patrons Honored (Chicago Architecture Foundation holds first annual Patron of the Year award program)	Chicago Architecture Foundation media release1
Dec. 1, 2004	Parking Panacea	Reed Business Information1

Twelve more 2004 items carried a year but no month.¹

Year	Headline	Outlet
2004	Chicago Architecture Foundation Patron of the Year Award	Chicago Architecture Foundation1
2004	Going solar, going green	Spire Solar Chicago1
2004	Bikers welcome in Chicago: City provides cyclists with good roads, ample facilities, bike education	Columbia Chronicle1
2004	Millennium Park Bicycle Station	Muller and Muller Architects1
2004	New Millennium Park Bicycle Station Opens	JOSTA Projects Dept of Transportation1
2004	Millennium Park Bike Station	City of Chicago: Millenium Park1
2004	How To Get To Millennium Park	NBC5.com1
2004	Chicago Update	BootsnAllTravel1
2004	Illinois Bicycle Tours	WorldWeb.com1
2004	Chicago Bike Station	New York Cycle Club1
2004	Bike Commuter press in the Chicago Tribune	Bike Forums1
2004	Millennium Park makes its debut	Columbia Chronicle1

The old page dated NPR’s report July 27, 2004. NPR’s own listing says July 26, 2004. Reporter David Schaper described a new state-of-the-art bike storage, a $3.1 million facility with a club-like atmosphere where cyclists could shower and change before heading to work.³

2005: the afterglow

Only four items followed in 2005.¹

Date	Headline	Outlet
Jan. 14, 2005	Chicago Bike Station	Beyond Brilliance1
Jan. 18, 2005	Ride, Ride, Ride	Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Tourism1
Feb. 17, 2005	Bike parking near downtown xing/govt center?	Topica Email Discussion1
2005	Chicago’s Icicle Bicycle Festival	BikeWinter.org1

Coverage the old page did not list

Wikipedia’s reference list for the station records more press from the same years and after.

Date	Headline	Outlet
Mar. 21, 2004	Bike riders to get station that has class	Chicago Tribune2
July 26, 2004	New Chicago park features bicycle depot	State Journal-Register2
Aug. 1, 2004	New Bike Station needs a couple of words to the wise	Chicago Tribune2
Jan. 14, 2005	For cyclists, Metra’s no easy ride	RedEye2
Mar. 2005	Millennium Park Bike Station Offers Viable Commuting Option	AIArchitect2
June 23, 2005	Official Recruits Portland To Build Bike Center	The Oregonian2
June 10, 2006	Millennium, McDonald’s carve deal on bike facility	Chicago Sun-Times2
June 18, 2006	If McDonald’s is serious, menu needs a makeover	Chicago Tribune2
May 24, 2007	How Valet Parking Could Save the Planet	Time2
June 1, 2007	Bike station in Windy City should show T.O. the way	Toronto Star2
June 26, 2009	Two-wheelers available for rent, so take a spin around downtown	The Plain Dealer2

What the headlines said

The verdicts were generous. Blair Kamin gave the building three stars out of four.² Other Tribune writers called it an “oasis for the urban cyclist” and reminiscent of “a hip health club.” The Toronto Star called it a “jewel-like glass building” with the amenities of an upscale health club.² The Plain Dealer named it the country’s “best-known bike station,” The Oregonian called it “the ultimate in bicycle stations,” and The Boston Globe judged that it put Chicago over the top as the nation’s most cycling-friendly city.²

After 2005: reopening, closing, police

The record turns in 2021. Streetsblog Chicago reported on August 31, 2021 that the station had officially reopened as Hub312 Cycling Center.⁴ Fox 32 reported on September 23, 2022 that it was closing indefinitely after serving commuters for 18 years.⁵ On March 24, 2023, Streetsblog Chicago reported that the city’s cultural affairs department had confirmed the building was being converted into solely a police facility.⁶

The clippings explain why the station mattered. The later headlines explain what happened to it. For the design the critics praised, see the design page.