September 14 is Carol Ross Barney Day in Chicago, a fitting recognition for an architect whose work has helped redefine what Chicago’s public realm can be. The City established the day in recognition of Carol’s nearly five decades of service to architecture and to the vitality of Chicago upon receipt of the American Institute of Architects, Gold Medal.

From the Chicago Riverwalk to CTA stations, O’Hare’s Multi-Modal Facility, the McDonald’s Chicago Flagship, Lincoln Park Zoo’s Searle Visitor Center, and now DuSable Park, Carol has spent her career designing the places where Chicagoans meet, move, gather, and experience their city. Her work has made civic and public space indispensable, and design excellence something that belongs to everyone.

In 2023, Carol became the first living woman to receive the AIA Gold Medal as an individual and only the sixth Chicago architect, and the first in 60 years, to receive architecture’s highest AIA honor. Years earlier, writer Zach Mortice captured her impact in Metropolis with a headline that still resonates: “Carol Ross Barney is Chicago’s New Daniel Burnham.”

This September 14, we celebrate Carol and the city she has spent a lifetime making more beautiful, accessible, resilient, and public.

Happy Carol Ross Barney Day, Chicago!