Century Walk

Genevieve looks up at us from her bench outside of Barnes and Noble on Washington Street. The Cat and the Hat practically takes our hand and strolls with us into Nichols Library. Officer Friendly, known to us today as Mayor Pradel, reminds the children of Naperville to be careful crossing streets. We are reminded of uncommon valor when we gaze upon five of Naperville’s most highly decorated World War II servicemen immortalized in the bronze sculpture Veterans’ Valor in the Central Park plaza.

Each of these works is just one of the 50 pieces of public art that make up Naperville’s Century Walk. In 1996, Century Walk began as a public art initiative featuring murals, mosaics, reliefs, mobiles, and sculptures throughout downtown Naperville. The first 30 pieces in some way represents the history of Naperville during the twentieth century through people, places and events. It is a fascinating way to portray the history of Naperville through public art. Several of the last pieces were not limited to historical themes as they expand the body of artwork throughout Naperville.

What makes the Century Walk stand out among public art projects is that the art work embraces the community which it represents, and the community which it represents becomes involved in the pieces of art themselves. As you look upon the faces in the crowd of The Great Concerto at the Community Concert Center in Central Park, do you recognize anyone? Look closely, the faces of over 56 residents of our community are depicted on this epic work. The muralist, Bart Gunderson, spent 1,600 hours creating The Great Concerto. Because of the timelessness of this historic piece, we can delight in finding the faces of our friends, family and neighbors, not only in the crowd during summer concerts, but also in the artwork itself.