On the southwest corner of the Washington Street and Chicago Avenue intersection is a large mural called “A City in Transit.” Celebrating our city’s “evolution of travel.” it was painted in 1998 by Hector Duarte and Mariah de Forest, two prolific Chicago muralists from the Taller Mesitzarte workshop and gallery.

Folks don’t travel on the DuPage River as much as over it, so a couple of bridges are illustrated. There’s also bit of the Old Plank Road which was originally a Native American trail and now is Ogden Avenue/Route 34.


Because of investments in the Plank Road, Naperville first refused a railroad before  eventually agreeing. In the mural, the Chicago-to-Denver Zephyr is shown waiting at the station.

Many of the buildings sport signs to help identify them. The Pre-Emption House is one and the Naperville Creamery is another.

Walter Fredenhagen started making Frozen Gold ice cream in the 1930s. With partner Earl Prince, he launched Prince Castle ice cream shops, like the one in the mural, which became the Cock Robin ice cream chain. Fredenhagen Park is now where Naperville’s Cock Robin was located, just steps away on Washington Street.

Other signs name the myriad of garages, gas stations and motor companies that used to be downtown, although that may seem strange to us today. At one time, Jimmy’s Grill was one of several gas stations and there were five different car dealers in the middle of town. Clyde Netzley opened his garage in the 1920s and later operated a Chrysler dealership just across the street from this mural where t

Phew! April 15 has come and gone, so now we can stop thinking about taxes, right? 

Not necessarily. While I am in no way proficient in tax law, I am an expert in worrying and I am already worrying about next year’s taxes. You should, too.