Being Born

Being Born, 1983

Virginio Ferrari

Donald J. DePorter Gateway

Ohio and Ontario Streets at base of Kennedy Expressway

            A gift from the Tool and Die Institute, Virginio Ferrari’s Being Born is a tribute to art and technology and to the industry that commissioned and fabricated it. The two rings of stainless steel, one fitting precisely within the other, honor the precise metalworking skills involved in die making and suggest, with the open section on the outer ring, that the industry is open to growth and new ideas. The cutting of the metal parts was carried out by Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Incorporated.

            Originally located at State and Washington Streets and positioned within a shallow reflecting pool, the work was relocated in 1996 when the formerly named “New Orleans Triangle” was re-landscaped and re-designed as the Donald J. DePorter Gateway. The project was led by the Chicago Gateway Green Committee, which hoped to create a better first impression for drivers entering the city. The committee removes graffiti and beautifies expressways around the city with funds from private supporters. Ferrari was born in Verona, Italy in 1937 but has been based in Chicago since the mid-1960s.