Rock on — City of big boulders holds contest to name mammoth stone dug up at O’Hare
At 50 tons, the behemoth boulder unearthed during construction at O’Hare International Airport recently is no mere rock.
And as such, it deserves a fitting name, said Chicago Department of Aviation officials who are holding a contest to find an appropriate moniker.
“The world already knows that O’Hare rocks — it’s why we’ve been named Best Airport in North America for 22 years straight, and why we've reclaimed the title of the world’s busiest airfield,” CDA Commissioner Mike McMurray said in a statement.
“But a rock of this magnitude deserves a name of its own. Internally, we’ve been calling it the O’Hare Bean,” after the Cloud Gate sculpture downtown, “but now it’s time to make it official — and who better to help us name it than the people of our great city?” he said.
Workers found the boulder while excavating a new detention basin as part of the ORDNext project, which involves two satellite concourses and a new Global Terminal replacing Terminal 2.
The rock was located 30 feet under the airfield surface and measures 11.5 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 7.5 feet tall.
It’s been identified as a dolostone, the state rock of Illinois, and is composed mostly of dolomite, a mineral also known as calcium magnesium carbonate.
Dolostone is one of the most common sedimentary rocks in Illinois, providing valuable soil nutrients and sturdy building materials. It was the cause of a “mineral rush” in Galena in the 1800s and forms some of the original stone at the old state Capitol building.
Contestants should submit their suggestions online before the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Sept. 29.
CDA staff will review eligible entries and pick five finalists, at which point the public can vote on a winner.
“While the winning name won’t literally be etched in stone, it will be announced across O’Hare’s social media channels and displayed prominently on O’Hare’s campus as part of an exhibit celebrating the boulder,” officials said.
The contest is open to all legal U.S. residents who are 18 or older.
mpyke@dailyherald.com