Statues

MICHAEL JORDAN STATUE

The Michael Jordan Statue was unveiled as part of a Nov. 1, 1994 ceremony at which Jordan's famous No. 23 was retired

ATRIUM HOURS:

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

In January 1994, Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Vice President Steve Schanwald hired Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Illinois, to design and create a statue of retired Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. The statue, which would stand forever at the entrance to the United Center, would serve as a tribute to the greatest player in NBA history. Schanwald sought a design which would be a realistic depiction of Jordan, illustrate the spectacular nature of his unique skill, and create the illusion of flight.

The statue was unveiled before a national television audience by award-winning host Larry King, Reinsdorf and Jordan in a November 1, 1994 ceremony. It sits on a 5-foot high black granite base inscribed with Jordan's achievements, and the words, "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." The Bulls also retired Jordan’s No. 23 at the ceremony.

The statue itself measures 12 feet tall (17 feet from top to bottom) and weighs 2,000 pounds. The statue was cast in bronze using the "lost wax" method at Art Casting of Illinois, a foundry in Oregon, Illinois.

Working in secrecy and putting in 16-hour days for four months, the Amrany's finished work depicts Jordan soaring over an abstract entanglement of opponents, preparing to unleash a signature dunk. The airborne Jordan is attached to the base at just one point — the knee.

“At that moment I knew, surely and clearly, that I was witnessing perfection. He stood before us, suspended above the earth, free from all its laws like a work of art, and I knew, just as surely and clearly, that life is not a work of art, and that the moment could not last.”
— “A River Runs Through It”

The above quote, displayed at the foot of the Jordan statue, was added following Jordan’s second retirement in 1998.

BOBBY HULL AND STAN MIKITA STATUES

They forged their fame just across Madison Street in the fabled old barn that people around here now refer to as the "Old Chicago Stadium."

Years later, Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull - Chicago Blackhawks' icons - are now permanently linked to the team's current home, the United Center. Their life-sized bronze statues were unveiled on October 22, 2011, before the Hawks hosted the Colorado Avalanche. The statues are located outside the northeast corner of the building at Gate 3-1/2,

"It's a great night," said Hull. "The only thing I can say is that it is likely, without argument, the greatest evening of my life. To have a bronze [statue] depicting me here where hundreds of thousands of people will walk by and say, 'Yeah, I remember him. Yeah, he could play a little bit,'...it's good to be something. This a wonderful tribute to both Stan and I."

Mikita, Hull and their teammates practically owned the Chicago sports scene in the 1960s. Mikita and Hull, known more affectionately as "Stosh" and "The Golden Jet," brought Chicago a Stanley Cup in 1961 and ignited a hockey-crazed fan base in the process.

The statues are life sized and were sculpted by the Rotblatt/Amrany Fine Art Studio. Hull and Mikita are depicted in action, right down to the tape on their hockey socks and laces tied exactly the way they were years earlier. Hull is following through on a slap shot, while Mikita's famous curved stick blade is at the ready.

Mikita, who's No. 21 was the first retired by the Blackhawks, played all 22 seasons of his NHL career in Chicago and is the team's career leader in assists (926), points (1,467) and games played (1,394). He also won four Art Ross Trophies, two Hart Trophies and one Lady Byng Trophy.

Hull played 15 years in a Blackhawks uniform and is the franchise's all-time career leader in goals (604) and ranks second all-time in points (1,153) and games played (1,036). He won the Art Ross Trophy three times, the Hart Trophy twice and the Lady Byng Trophy once.

Hull, who's No. 9 was the second retired, was the first player in NHL history to score more than 50 goals in a season. He also led the NHL in goals scored seven times and surpassed the 50-goal mark five times in his career.

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