Melanie Wolf
Contributing Writer
The Century Walk’s 47th and most populated mural, “Naperville Loves a Parade” adorns the south wall of “Rubin’s Way” – the alleyway west of Main Street between the GAP and Talbot’s in downtown Naperville.
Designed by lead artist Diosdado “Dodie” Mondero of Orland Park with the assistance of artists Marianne Lisson Kuhn, Adela Vystejnova and Ashley Samack, the mural features local businesses and over 200 community members painted in bright, vivid colors enjoying a parade.
Work began in the spring of 2011 on “Naperville Loves a Parade”, which can be considered a continuation of the adjacent “Parade of the Century”, a mural located on the north, exterior wall of the same alley painted by artist Vystejnova. Each mural has a lifetime of at least 20 years.
Painted in a silhouette style, “Parade of the Century” uses tones of black and white to depict a parade of the previous century while “Naperville Loves a Parade” is painted in color with a more realistic, “Norman Rockwell” style to depict the generation of today.
Diosdado “Doodle” Mondero and his family point to the finished mural of themselves on ‘Naperville Loves a Parade.’
Lisson Kuhn says, “Since real people and buildings were represented, we wanted them rendered with great detail to be recognized. At first it was a bit challenging because the brick is very old and rough in spots, but after a while you forget you were even painting on brick.”
The idea behind these two murals was envisioned by Brand Bobosky, president of Century Walk Corp., a non for profit organization that formed in 1996. The organization has brought more than 40 pieces of public art into the community in order to preserve the history of Naperville.
“Naperville Loves a Parade” is unique as it was entirely supported by community donors who paid about $280,000 in total to have themselves, their pets and their businesses included within the mural.
To have their likeliness painted, community members paid $1,000 for a full adult figure and from $400 to $600 for an adult face. Business logos started at $1,000 and images of entire buildings cost $5,000. Images of pets were $400, while a family or a group of four could be added for $5,000.
“I have a special attachment to this mural as my ancestors settled here in the mid-1800s so my roots are deep and I know firsthand the history of many of the people and buildings represented on the wall. -Marianne Lisson Kuhn, Mural Artist
Among the crowd, viewers of the mural are able to pick out many familiar faces.
Joseph Naper, the founder of Naperville, looks as if he has returned from the past and is amazed by how the city has changed. Dick Locher, the Dick Tracy cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner is seen painted with his wife, Mary, and his Alter Ego, Dick Tracy himself. Mayor George Pradel is pictured not only in the “Parade of the Century” but also as a spectator in “Naperville Loves a Parade”, which according to Lisson Kuhn, “Isn’t much of a stretch because sometimes I think he must be able to be in two places at once with all the events he attends.”
Marianne Lisson Kuhn stands with the finalized murals of her family.
Lead artist Mondero says that his favorite scene within the mural is the police officer writing a parking ticket to Mondero seen with his ‘57 Chevy. Lisson Kuhn’s family and a friend, Jimmy Walsh are also painted near the end of the mural on their tractors to represent the farming community that Naperville originally was.
“I have a special attachment to this mural as my ancestors settled here in the mid 1800’s so my roots are deep and I know firsthand the history of many of the people and buildings represented on the wall” says Lisson Kuhn.
It is a fact that Naperville does love a parade as it schedules five each year just as the mural, “Naperville Loves a Parade” will continue over the generations to portray the pride that community members take in their beloved city.
