Entry No. 80 — the Chicago file — filed under: roadside-oddity

Batcolumn

A 101-foot gray steel baseball bat, balanced upright on its knob outside a federal building. Claes Oldenburg originally wanted it painted red, but switched to gray so it wouldn't visually clash with Alexander Calder's Flamingo a few blocks away; protesters showed up at the 1977 dedication carrying signs reading "Expensive joke."

The move: Stand directly underneath the open lattice shaft and look straight up — from below it dissolves into pure abstract geometry and stops reading as a bat at all.

• 📍 West Loop / The Loop
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 600 W. Madison St, Chicago, IL 60661

Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · choosechicago.com

last checked: 2026-07-19