Giddings Plaza

Kempf Plaza, which is better known as Giddings Plaza, is located where Giddings Street and Lincoln Avenue meet (well, where they used to meet). Now Giddings St. no longer intersects with Lincoln Ave. and has been transformed into a cul-​de-​sac, clearing space for an outdoor pedestrian plaza.
Giddings Plaza has since been endowed with great brick paving, a platform where musicians and magicians perform, The Lombard Lamp and The Lincoln Square Fountain, whose geometric decoration was inspired by the exquisite ornament of architect Louis Sullivan’s former Krause Music Store just down Lincoln Ave.
You can catch many activities at Giddings Plaza. During the Summer, there are free concerts and brats and beer from the Brauhaus for sale in food tents. In the Fall there are many polka concerts and Lincoln Square’s very own Apple Fest. In the Winter a Christmas tree is erected and you can catch Christmas carolers in plaza. Giddings is a great place during all the seasons in Chicago.
Giddings Plaza is an overall great place to pop a squat and take in the beauty that is beheld in this illustrious plaza. Whether you’re eating a brat and watching Polka or trimming the tree with fellow carolers, Giddings Plaza is truly a great and unique niche in Lincoln Square.
Here is a link to Lincoln Square’s Chamber of Commerce Events Page

The best plaza in Chicago.
I walk through this plaza every day. I like to leave public art in this plaza almost every day. What artwork you might find here:
+ a plastic treasure chest in the baby’s arms of the Lombard Lamp
+ a chalk drawing of a puppy dog with a dog food dish. I change what’s in his dish every time
Other things you’ll find:
+ chalk drawings by all sorts of other kids on the european-​style bricks
+ everyone in the community gathering to listen to the live bands every thursday night
+ fun conversations on benches
+ little babies running around on the weekend
+ a delightful fountain
+ historic lamp given to us from Germany
+ during christmastime, a giant shoe filled with regular shoes

A fountain in Lincoln Square? I’ve often wondered what was the great appeal of having a fountain and some park benches in the middle of Lincoln Square just a few blocks away from Welles Park, but I’ve been recently surprised. During the summer on Thursdays the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce books bands all summer to play in the plaza on a stage.
The scene is pretty cool, you’ll see the band, a hundred or so people — some with chairs, some not but you will definitely see lots and lots of kids. I usually don’t go anywhere near kids, but this scene is just a nice way to pass a Thursday night by when I don’t feel like going too far from home. The music is quite eclectic and there is a schedule on the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce web site. For nights with live music, there is usually a beer stand and of course you’ll be right in the heart of Lincoln Square and have all of its wonderful spots at your fingertips.
Passing by a million times when it’s not live music day, the plaza still is a tranquil place to read a book and not be bothered by people asking you for spare change. I sometimes wonder if pigeon man would pass the house by here feeding the birds… but that was a long time ago.

This little plaza, which is smack in the middle Lincoln Square is a gathering place for locals unlike you would find in any other Chicago neighborhood. It’s is surrounded by Gidding St. to the east, Sel Marie’s to the south, The Chicago Brauhaus and Book Cellars to the west, and Fountainview Condominiums to the north. It’s an intimate plaza with a fountain, much like you would find in the Marais district of Paris or in almost any other European city.
In summer, there are free concerts and sometimes musicians who just show up and play, while families and residents enjoy the benches and the al fresco weather, not to mention the outdoor café for Sel Marie which is right on the plaza. In fall, there’s an apple fest. You can buy brats and beer from the Brauhaus. In winter the community Christmas tree goes up in the plaza. In short, it’s a great gathering place, where you are bound to meet neighbors, and it gives Lincoln Square a lot of its unique character. Make sure to stop and cop a bench for awhile if you are in the Square. You can pick up some takeout from any number of nearby restaurants and have your own Charlie Brown lunch or picnic on the plaza.