A new public art installation in the western suburbs is drawing a lot of attention from people all over the Midwest. The umbrella installation has gone viral in other countries and now returns to Elmhurst for its second year.
Tucked in an alley in downtown Elmhurst is where you’ll find a canopy of bright colored umbrellas suspended into the air. More than 300 capturing the attention of people walking by.
“We turn down here and it was just whoosh,” said Jenny Riddle from Elmhurst. “It’s this really beautiful surprise of you know of colors and art and how wonderful to have that on your little city street in Elmhurst.
“They renovated all of downtown Elmhurst and I haven’t been here in 30 years so its all new to me,” said Tim Schultheis from Elmhurst.
Others traveled to visit what’s being called Umbrella Sky.
“This is beautiful,” said Eileen Amrah visiting from the United Kingdom. “I’ve seen this in Barcelona so my sister said there’s one here so let’s come here and take some photos.”
The vibrant display near York Street and Schiller Court went up last week. It first originated in Portugal. A woman from Elmhurst saw the display while on vacation and brought the idea back to her hometown.
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“It has been our wildest dreams a hit!” said Christy Sopko, coordinator director of Elmhurst City Centre. “Social media is exploding, we get calls consistently not only from people from Elmhurst but within the region and we also get calls from people looking for directions from a ot of other midwestern states.”
Sopko told NBC 5 the centre partnered with the city’s Public Arts Commission to make this a reality. The location on Schiller Court is just one of three in Elmhurst.
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“We are getting attention from folks that never used to pay too much attention to Elmhurst,” said Sopko.
The art installation is the first of its kind in the state. Sopko said they have seen an increase in visitors since launching with more people shopping and dining and taking pictures to share on social media.
“People are excited by it people are coming for special occasions we have seen prom and weddings and first communion and people dressing in costumes to match the umbrellas and that sort of thing,” she said.
Sopko said the plan is to swap out the colors just in time for summer to drive even more tourism to the shopping district. The colorful display will be up until October.
“We hope that people come they see all three spots by discovering something new when they walk around downtown Elmhurst,” she said. Elmhurst is hosting a launch party on Schiller Court on Saturday, April 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The other two displays are located at 110 S. Cottage Hill and 254 N. York Street.
