Chicago Illinois, USA
Demolished 1971
This waterfall was long gone and replaced by a parking lot by the time I moved to the neighborhood. It was definitely a gem for the neighborhood among the factory buildings. Anon.Summers when I was young were hot, no a/c, so places to cool off got woven into the fabric of the season, the highpoint of family and, later, peer group excursions.
The falls seemed to a small child mountainous, the paths scary–slippery, high–but the mist was so refreshing, and at the end of the journey we’d sit in the little cafe and have cold drinks. Burt M.
The Olson Park and Waterfall was a popular 22 acre built by Walter E. Olson, the owner of the Olson Rug Company, next to his factory at the junction of Diversey and Pulaski streets. During the opening of the park in 1935, the land was symbolically deeded to the Native American, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the expulsion after the Blackhawk war. The factory and park were sold to Marshall Fields in 1965, and the park was closed in 1978. Today the site is a parking lot.
The painting is based on a press photograph by Hedrich Blessing from 1935 found on Wikipedia.
The painting is based on
No. 303