Contest seeks incognito treasures

Do you have a favorite place? Somewhere tucked away, a gem known only to a lucky few? Now might be the time for all of the Chicago area to discover it.

This summer, the Chicago-based Metropolitan Planning Council and the Chicago Architecture Foundation have partnered up for the contest What Makes Your Place Great? Your Secret Corner of Chicagoland.

Through July 26, residents of Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties -- as well as those in several Illinois counties and Racine and Kenosha counties in Wisconsin -- can submit a photo or video along with a description, in 250 words or less, of the place they think is special and how it enhances their community.

Four winners will receive a prize package that includes passes to the Brookfield Zoo, Chicago History Museum, Shedd Aquarium and the chance to have their gem featured in an October tour guided by the architectural group -- as well as bragging rights to the best undiscovered public place in the region.

Mandy Burrell Booth, assistant communications director for the Metropolitan Planning Council, said the nonprofit agency is hosting the contest to complement its project Placemaking Chicago, which helps people understand how to make great places and what their value is to the entire region.

"Not only is it fun and cool to visit great places, but they make the entire region more attractive," she said.

The contest debuted last summer, and Booth said a lot of the submissions were for familiar places like "Cloud Gate," also known as "The Bean" sculpture, in Downtown Chicago and the city's Millennium Park.

"This year we kind of want to see what's out there that we don't know about -- and don't necessarily think of first," she said.

HOW TO ENTER:

Photos, videos and descriptions of what residents think is a great place that enhances their community can be e-mailed to placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org.

To read guidelines for entry and voting, visit http://www.placemakingchicago.com. One winner will be selected by online voters beginning Aug. 9, and a Placemaking Chicago panel will choose the other three.