Benito Pablo Juárez

Benito Pablo Juárez, 1977 (re-installed 1999)

Julian Martinez

Plaza de las Américas

430 North Michigan Avenue between the Wrigley Building and Realtor Building

The Plaza de las Américas was dedicated in May 1965, as a joint venture of the Wrigley Company and the (former) Apollo Savings and Loan. Flags representing each member country of the Organization of American States (OAS) flank the perimeter. Originally, Mexican President José López Portillo gifted a two-and-a-half foot tall, unsigned bust of the Mexican leader to be installed in the plaza in 1977. In February 1999, the counsel general of Mexico in Chicago presented a new, 16-foot tall, five-ton statue in its place.

Juarez, considered one of Mexico’s greatest national heroes, was that country’s first president of Indian ancestry. Chicago has a large population of Mexicans, many of whom also have a Native American heritage.