Chicago’s Department of Aviation is asking members of the public to help name a large boulder discovered under the airfield at O’Hare International Airport.
The 50-ton boulder was discovered about 30 feet underground during excavation work on a stormwater detention project, the city said. The project is part of work for the city’s multibillion-dollar O’Hare modernization project.
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The Aviation Department said a professional geologist working on the terminal expansion project determined that the rock is a dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock closely related to limestone. It measures approximately 11.5 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 7.5 feet tall.
Over the next three weeks, members of the public can propose rock names via an online form. The CDA will select five finalist names, among which the public will vote to determine a winner.
The process is similar to the one used by the city to name snowplows. Winning snowplow names this year included “Abolish ICE,” “Stephen Coldbert” and “Pope Frío XIV.”
In a statement, Aviation Department Commissioner Mike McMurray said the rock has been nicknamed the “O’Hare bean” internally.
“The world already knows that O’Hare rocks,” McMurray said, adding that “a rock of this magnitude deserves a name of its own.”
The boulder will eventually be displayed “in a prominent location” outside one of the city’s airport facilities, department spokesperson Kevin Bargnes said.
The city’s massive $8.8 billion O’Hare modernization project broke ground last August and is expected to be completed in 2034.