Wender·Vista
Navy Pier
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Chicago lakefront, east of Streeterville

Navy Pier

— — the city's long arm out into the lake.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A 3,300-foot pier that has reached out into Lake Michigan since 1916. The Centennial Wheel turns 196 feet above the water. Chicago Shakespeare Theater plays inside the old auditorium at the east end. Summer fireworks, twice a week, light the water under the bridges. The pier holds the kind of crowd a city brings to its waterfront — kids, couples, the lake wind, the long view back at the skyline.

from the studio
Navy Pier
— bring it home

Navy Pier, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Navy Pier

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Navy Pier extends 3,300 feet east into Lake Michigan from the Streeterville neighbourhood, at the foot of Grand Avenue in downtown Chicago. The pier opened in July 1916 as Municipal Pier, designed by Charles Sumner Frost as a combined shipping and recreation facility, and was renamed Navy Pier in 1927 to honour Navy personnel who served in the First World War. It remains one of the most visited attractions in the Midwest, with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Crystal Gardens, and the Centennial Wheel anchoring its present-day mix.

— informed by Wikipedia — Navy Pier
— the visit

The pier is open throughout the year, with the busiest hours running from late morning through evening between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Centennial Wheel, 196 feet tall and installed in 2016 for the pier's hundredth anniversary, runs daily and offers a long view back at the skyline. Pier Park, Crystal Gardens, and the boat docks fill out the central section. Admission to the pier itself is free; individual attractions and rides are ticketed. Access is by CTA bus, water taxi from the river, and structured parking.

— informed by Navy Pier — official
— the year

The pier's calendar runs on the Chicago summer. Fireworks light the water twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater season runs through the colder months in the renovated auditorium at the east end. Winterland and seasonal markets fill the central halls between Thanksgiving and early January. The pier's year is built around the lake, open through every season but unmistakably alive in the long July and August evenings.

— where
United States · Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
— position
41.8920° N · 87.6090° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km W
Streeterville
neighbourhood
2 km SW
Millennium Park
park
4 km SW
Willis Tower
skyscraper
3 km S
Grant Park
park
N
Navy Pier
Streeterville
Millennium Park
Willis Tower
Grant Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Navy Pier — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In July 1916 as Municipal Pier, designed by Charles Sumner Frost. It was renamed Navy Pier in 1927 to honour Navy personnel who served in the First World War, and has run as a public attraction ever since.

About 3,300 feet, extending east into Lake Michigan from the Streeterville neighbourhood at the foot of Grand Avenue. It is one of the longest public piers on the Great Lakes.

196 feet from the ground. It was installed in 2016, replacing the previous Ferris wheel and marking the pier's hundredth anniversary. The wheel runs daily through most of the year.

Wednesdays and Saturdays through the summer season, broadly Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. The Wednesday show is shorter and the Saturday show longer. Both are best watched from the pier or the bridges to the west.

Yes. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater operates inside the renovated Auditorium Building at the east end and runs a full season through the colder months alongside summer programming.

Yes. Walking the pier itself is free of charge. The Centennial Wheel, the carousel, individual exhibits, the boat tours, and theatre performances are ticketed separately.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Navy Pier is one of the most recognisable places on the lakefront and a fixture of Chicago summers. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note suits a desk, a gallery wall, or a studio.

The piece sits well in Industrial-modern, warm Mid-century, and Coastal-modern interiors. The lake blues and the pier's long horizontal line read against brick, exposed beams, and brushed metal.

Yes. City lakefronts and skylines have moved into the wider conversation of place-based art. Navy Pier sits alongside the Brooklyn Bridge, the Embarcadero, and the Chicago skyline in that small atlas of urban shorelines.

The pier's long horizontal carries best at width. A single Large suits most sofas and consoles; a 4-tile Mural reads more architectural; a 9-tile Mural is the choice when the lakefront anchors the room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. The Glossy finish belongs in dry rooms and framed installations.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish and does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Reid Wender curates the studio's vista line himself. There is no licensing and no third party. Each tile is hand-finished in our Knoxville, Tennessee workshop and shipped from there.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.