It is 39 feet (12 m) tall, and is made of steel, wire mesh, concrete, bronze, and ceramic tile.

[2] In 1969, the Brunswick Corporation commissioned a design from Miró for this sculpture, but they decided not to proceed due to the costs.

This bronze model of Miró's Chicago (pictured below) is in the Milwaukee Art Museum collection.

In 1979, the first female Mayor of Chicago, Jane Byrne, agreed to find funds for the sculpture assuming that another 50% could be found elsewhere.

After the commitment of several institutions, foundations and individuals, construction began with Miró reducing the cost by donating his design to the city and the names of the contributors included in the specification.