The Chicago Park District announced this week that it has selected sculptor Branly Cadet and architect Rodney Leon to design and build a monument honoring Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the city’s first permanent non‑native settler. The statue will anchor DuSable Park, a new 3.5‑acre lakefront park slated to break ground later this year on a peninsula at 451 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, near the mouth of the Chicago River.
Project details and partners
Cadet will create a full‑body bronze statue of DuSable, while Leon will oversee technical aspects such as lighting, interpretive signage, and the base fabrication. The park’s design also calls for additional art installations that recognize DuSable’s Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa, and other Indigenous voices. Interpretive signage and a historical timeline will provide visitors with context about the early settlement of the area.
Developer Related Midwest, which is constructing the adjacent 400 N. Lake Shore Drive residential towers on the former Chicago Spire site, is contributing $10 million toward the $15 million park project. The park’s lead design firms, Ross Barney Architects and Brook Architecture, submitted final plans in 2025 and expect construction to begin this year with completion projected for next year.
Design features and community impact
Renderings show the park will be accessible from the existing lakefront trail, an expanded Riverwalk, and a dedicated bus stop. A boardwalk will trace the peninsula’s edge, and the landscape will feature native Illinois wetlands and prairie plantings meant to evoke the environment DuSable and Kitihawa likely encountered in the late 1700s.
In addition to the DuSable statue, the park will host other public‑art pieces, walking trails, gathering spaces, and designed landscapes that aim to celebrate Chicago’s diverse cultural heritage. The project fulfills a vision first set in motion in 1987 when former Mayor Harold Washington donated the parcel to the Park District for a DuSable memorial.
Artists’ background
Both Cadet and Leon are American‑born artists of Haitian descent. Cadet’s résumé includes the “Ark of Return” at the United Nations headquarters in New York and the “Jackie Robinson Memorial” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. In a statement, Cadet said the commission is “especially meaningful and poignant” and that the monument will serve as a lasting reminder of DuSable’s contribution to the founding of Chicago.
Park District Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez‑Rosa praised the collaboration, noting that the artwork will “beautifully lift up the rich diversity, deep history, and vibrant cultural stories of our city.”
Next steps
Construction is slated to begin later this year, with the park’s first phase focusing on site preparation, utility work, and the installation of the statue’s foundation. Once completed, DuSable Park will join Chicago’s network of lakefront green spaces, offering residents and visitors a new venue for recreation, education, and reflection on the city’s origins.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
