Tucked between two buildings on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus is a city park so small you could walk over it without realizing. Just 54 square feet in size, Park No. 474 contains nothing natural—only a granite slab, a silent bronze figure, and a unique place in Chicago history.
A Park Born from a Rule
In 1986, the B.F. Ferguson Fund commissioned a sculpture honoring architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The fund required it be installed on public land, so the university deeded a 6-by-9-foot plot to the city, creating Park No. 474—Chicago’s smallest official park.
Man on a Bench
The park features George Segal’s Man on a Bench, a white-painted bronze figure sitting on a bench, designed in Segal’s trademark plaster-like style. The sculpture is open for seating, and half the bench remains unoccupied for visitors.
Pranks and Preservation
Students have embraced the figure as an unofficial mascot. In 2000, seniors moved the statue to the university president’s office in a prank he called “the best of the century.” Despite occasional vandalism, the sculpture has been carefully preserved and still quietly sits today.
Between two campus buildings in Chicago sits Park No. 474—a public park just 54 square feet in size.
With no grass or trees, it holds only a granite slab and a statue of a man on a bench.
But how a sculpture created a permanent city park is a story few know…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/KfgalplUnp
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 8, 2025