Dear Friend(s):
The citizens of Park Ridge have been given an opportunity to re-discover a link to our past. The mural, “Indians Cede the Land,” was commissioned in 1938 and placed in the Park Ridge Post Office at 164 South Prospect Avenue in 1940. In 1970, the building was sold to the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, at which time the mural was removed and saved. Stored for 38 years, it was donated to the Park Ridge Public Library for attempted restoration but funds are unavailable due to the current financial and budget situation of Park Ridge. We need your help! Three current Library Trustees have joined with the Park Ridge Historical Society to raise funds to restore the mural. Once completed, the mural will be displayed in the Park Ridge Public Library for the entire community to enjoy and reflect upon our history.
This New Deal era mural depicts what is believed to be the first occurrence of Native Americans selling their own land to new settlers in 1816. The Treaty of St. Louis established the Indian Boundary Territory, the center of which was the mouth of the Chicago River at Lake Michigan. This territory extended west to the Fox River, which connects ultimately to the Mississippi River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. This portage area allowed the development of the City of Chicago as a prime Commercial Center and the United States as an economic powerhouse. The mural’s academic importance has been recognized by the Superintendents of both District 64 and 207, not only for its relationship to Park Ridge history but also to the history of Chicago as well as the economic development of the United States.
We ask that you read the material below for further background information and join in this community effort to restore to the City and its citizens a valuable piece of our history. A link for a donation form is also listed.
Thank you,
The Park Ridge Mural Restoration Committee
The Park Ridge Historical Society
Click here for the Mural Restoration Donation Form.
Click here for more information on the
history of the mural and the mural artist.
Please visit www.rr1.net for more images of murals produced as part of the Federal Arts Projects, in particular the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts, which commissioned many post office murals.
