Chicago Reveals Six Finalists in Naming Contest for O'Hare Airport's 50-Ton Boulder
Chicago is a city in Cook County, Illinois. Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) on October 16 announced the six finalists in the contest to name the 50-ton boulder unearthed beneath O'Hare International Airport's airfield. The public can vote online through 5 p.m. Central Time on Monday, November 2, 2026.
The boulder was discovered about 30 feet below the surface during excavation of the airport's South Detention Basin, an enabling project for the new Concourse D and Concourse E now under construction as part of the ORDNext expansion program. Measuring approximately 11.5 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall, it was identified by a professional geologist as dolostone dating to the Silurian period, about 400 million years ago. It is now displayed outside the airport's Multi-Modal Facility.
The naming contest launched in September and drew more than 2,900 submissions. The six finalists are Sweet Stone Chicago, No ORDinary Rock, Chicago Rocks, O'Rock, Orchard Rock and Da Rock. The winning name will be announced on O'Hare's social media channels and featured in the boulder exhibit outside the Multi-Modal Facility at 10255 W Zemke Rd. CDA Commissioner Michael McMurray said Chicagoans answered with thousands of creative names and that the list has now been narrowed to six for a public vote.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场1号航站楼内景。图片来源：Flickr 摄影者，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Inside Terminal 1 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Image: Flickr photographer, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
