“Efforts to preserve a renowned mural on the Near West Side have received a financial boost. The Chicago Public Art Group has been awarded more than $450,000 from the Mellon Foundation to preserve the two-story ‘Solidarity’ mural in the former UE Hall, 37 S. Ashland Ave…

“The mural, painted in 1974, illustrates the history of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America and the labor movement from the 1930s onward. It spans about 500 square feet.

“Members of the union and Chicago Public Art Group have been raising funds to preserve the mural since the union alerted group members in January of its plans to sell the building. Funds from the grant will go toward preserving the mural, transporting it and installing it in new locations, said Chantal Healey, executive director of the art group.

“Most of the mural will be moved to the union’s new home at 1901 W. Carroll Ave., also home to the Chicago Teachers Union, rather than be demolished. Small portions of the mural will also be sent to the offices of In These Times magazine at 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. and the UE Local 506 hall in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Acharya, Block Club Chicago, 10/23/24)

“The sprawling mural, which is titled “Solidarity” and narrates the history of industrial unionism, spanned the two lobbies and central staircase of the union’s meeting hall on South Ashland Avenue, which is being gutted and turned into apartments. A team of artists painted the vibrant work in the style of Diego Rivera between 1973 and 1974.

“The two-story brick building…was originally built for the West End Woman’s Club in 1904. The western region of the United Electrical Workers union moved in 1948. The meeting hall was once essential to the union’s operations.” (Breen, Chicago Tribune, 10/30/24)

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Tribune

• Historic ‘Solidarity’ Mural In Former Union Hall Will Be Preserved Thanks To Arts Group Grant; The mural illustrates the history of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. The Chicago Public Art Group was awarded more than $450,000 from the Mellon Foundation to preserve it, Pavan Acharya, Block Club Chicago, 10/23/24
• One of Chicago’s oldest public art pieces is saved, thanks to arts grant, Peter Breen, Chicago Tribune, 10/30/24
• Massive preservation project underway to save one of the oldest public art pieces in Chicago area, Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 3/11/24
• Union, Art Group Raising Money To Save Historical ‘Solidarity’ Mural At UE Hall; “There’s a whole lot of people who should know this mural who are gonna miss it completely,” artist John Pitman Weber said, Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 2/20/24
• Near West Side union hall’s sale could mean ‘heartbreaking’ destruction of historic union-themed mural; Completed in 1974 by Chicago artists John Pitman Weber and Jose Guerrero, the painting is inside the United Electrical Workers union hall, which soon could be sold and redeveloped, Sun-Times staff, 12/3/23
• This hidden mural on South Ashland Avenue tells the story of one of the most radical labor unions; The walls of the ‘Solidarity’ mural — which will be part of the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago tour in October — are plastered with brightly colored scenes of workers’ struggles and triumphs, Syd Stone, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/19