By Tim Hadac
Managing Editor, Southwest Chicago Post
I grew up in the West Lawn neighborhood--specifically, the east end, a stone's throw from the Grand Trunk Western railroad tracks at Central Park Avenue.
As a kid, I walked to and from Marquette Park and other destinations east of the tracks. That meant walking through a handful of viaducts--from 59th Street to 67th Street.
Back then--a good 50 years ago--the viaducts could be nasty. They were often littered with old beer cans, broken wine bottles, cigarette butts and worse. They were dark, dank and stank of urine and worse. Sometimes, we kids would see (to use pejorative terms of those times) winos, bums and other shady men lurking in and around the viaducts.
Frankly, the viaducts were the armpits of an otherwise decent neighborhood.
For reasons I'll never understand, the local alderman back then ignored the viaducts, as well as Central Park Avenue, which for many years was pocked with potholes and choked with weeds growing out of the railroad embankment.
Then suddenly, a few years back, the ward boundaries were redrawn (as they are every 10 years)--and the viaducts were now in a ward led by an energetic, assertive public servant: 23rd Ward Alderman Silvana Tabares.
Under her leadership, Central Park Avenue started getting paved and cleared of weeds and litter.
And then something I was certain I'd never see in my lifetime: the viaducts not only got cleaned up (in concert with CSX, the railroad company that these days operates on the old Grand Trunk tracks), but started being used as canvasses for talented muralists.
The latest of these can be seen at the 63rd Street viaduct.
The artwork was finished months ago, but was dedicated recently. The muralist herself, Anna P. Murphy, was there at a ceremony led by Alderman Tabares.
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| SWCP photo by Don Krukowski |
Also on hand were representatives of the Greater Southwest Development Corporation, CPD Eighth District police leadership and others.
There was a significant level of neighborhood participation in making the mural happen. Select residents of Chicago Lawn and West Lawn offered advice along the way and helped guide design decisions.
That participation included a handful of neighborhood volunteers who helped fill in the mural (under artistic guidance, of course). The project even saw Murphy lead a painting workshop at the West Lawn Branch Library.
All told, the mural cost about $100,000--paid for through tax dollars from Tabares' "menu" allocation. The cost included everything, such as artist fee (including fees for artist assistants) and materials.
The mural, in Murphy’s signature palette of gold, blue and white, was commissioned by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
The mural is a whimsical illustration of children hanging on hollyhocks and reaching out to hummingbirds. Squirrels, ducks, bunnies, foxes, raccoons, dahlias and trumpet flowers and deer mingle among mushrooms. On one side of 63rd Street is written “Spread Your Wings and Fly.” Across traffic looking back, the wall reads “Abre tus alas y vuela.”
The result is nothing short of spectacular. The colors, the images, even the vintage-looking font used all combine to evoke a charming, dreamy feel. It's almost as if a children's storybook from the Victorian era has come to life, 150 years later in Chicago.
That is perhaps not surprising from a talented artist like Murphy, who grew up in England--where afternoon tea is still a thing, as are blue and white porcelain tea sets.
In a way, it's unlike most other murals in that it has a real fine-art feel to it--as if it were a beautiful painting made many times larger. That, too, is not surprising, since Murphy's background is in traditional fine-art painting on canvas.
Words alone don't do it justice. I suggest you click on this link: https://annapmurphy.com/Spread-Your-Wings-And-Fly-1 to see a wealth of photos of this stunning work of art.
“This bright, beautiful addition to our neighborhood has been truly wonderful," Tabares says. "Anna is such a talented artist."
Tabares says Murphy has committed to touching up the work of art, when necessary, at her own expense. I find that commendable.
"My hope is that the message is uplifting and inspiring, and that the mural serves as a point of pride for the community," Murphy says. "I hope people can stop in their tracks and--in a good way--be in awe and kind of get lost in it, discovering something new every time they look at it."
Follow her on Instagram @annapmurphy to stay up to date on her work.
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