South Mural

In honor of the City of Batavia and the 175th anniversary of its settlement, the southern pediment mural represents the history of Batavia. The mural includes the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag reflected in a dental mirror—a tribute to a Batavia dentist and the “Father of Flag Day,” ice skaters on the Fox River, a smokestack from the Challenge Company, a scientist, a fisherman, and more.

The mural’s central image (9) features an American-style windmill. In place of the vane usually found on a fixed-wheel windmill, there is a windmill weight, which represents “the heart of Batavia.” Pick up a free copy of Windmill City: A Guide to the Historic Windmills of Batavia, Illinois, which provides descriptions of Batavia’s windmills and the companies that manufactured them, at the Library.

At the far left, a tenacious bulldog (1) pulls on a rope. Is an arch-rival on the other end? Batavia High School has been the home of the Bulldogs since 1945.

Strawberry shortcake, Huckleberry pie V–I–C–T–O–R–Y Are we in it? Well, I guess, Batavia High School, Yes yes yes!

The dancers (2) are dressed for a barn dance. Nonetheless, everyone is invited to dance at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory! There is folk dancing in the Village Barn every week as four different groups meet to dance at Fermilab—barn dancing, with traditional American contra and square dances; international folk dancing, featuring line, circle, couple, trio, and group dances, primarily from Europe and the Middle East; Scottish country dancing, and English country dancing.

Below the dancers, subatomic particles (3) represent the work of the four-mile Tevatron, the world’s highest-energy particle accelerator, at Fermilab. Its 1,000 superconducting magnets are cooled by liquid helium to -268°C (–450°F). Its low-temperature cooling system was the largest ever built when it was placed in operation in 1983. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has designated the Tevatron cryogenic system an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.

An elegant leather-bound book (4)—one of over 160,000 books in the Library—supports a brass-and-enamel flag of the United States of America (5). The Stars and Stripes are reflected in the dental mirror (6), a tribute to Bernard J. Cigrand, a Batavia dentist and the “Father of Flag Day.”

From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke around the country promoting patriotism, respect for the flag, and the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14. Cigrand became president of the American Flag Day Association and later of the National Flag Day Society, which allowed him to promote his cause with organizational backing.

Cigrand moved to Batavia in 1912 and built a house at 1184 S. Batavia Ave., which still stands. He practiced dentistry in the lower level of his home until 1920, when he moved his practice to 47½ Fox Street in Aurora, so that his son, Dr. Elroy might practice with him. During World War I, Bernard served with distinction as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy. Cigrand continued to live in Batavia until 1932, the year he died.

After 30 years of Cigrand’s advocacy, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day in 1916. The United States Congress formally made the proclamation law in August 1949.

The Aurora Branch Railroad, which connected Aurora to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad in Turner Junction—now West Chicago—was completed in 1850, and the first locomotive to arrive in Batavia was the “Pioneer” (7), on Thursday, 22 August 1850.

The railroad later became a branch line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad, which built a depot (8)—now the Batavia Depot Museum—at Van Buren and Webster Streets in 1854. This structure is the oldest surviving depot from the Burlington line.

At the far right, exploration of new frontiers is symbolized by a scientist (20)—perhaps from the Furnas Electric Company (1940), which produced electric switches and controls, or Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (1967), which conducts basic research at the frontiers of high energy physics and related disciplines—looking through a magnifying glass.

Two major components of the Standard Model of Fundamental Particles and Forces were discovered at Fermilab, which investigates the smallest building blocks of matter (19) separated by the smallest distances that science has ever explored —the bottom quark (1977) and the top quark (1995).

A bygone view of the west channel of the Fox River (“the pond”) in winter captures the smokestack (18) from the Appleton Manufacturing Co. on the Island. This is now the site of the Batavia Riverwalk and Municipal Center.

In the foreground skaters (17) are enjoying the ice. This idyllic winter scene was inspired by “Fox River Ice-Skating,” a painting by John P. Falter that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on 11 January 1958. See a larger-than-life version of this painting in the northeast reading room of the Library!

Next to a slim volume of forgotten lore (16), a fisherman sits on a book, reading (15)—perhaps The Compleat Angler—his feet propped on the edge of the pediment. A wary walleye (Sander vitreus vitreus) (10) keeps a close eye on the unsuspecting angler from the summer waters of the Fox River.

Another fish launches itself from the river beneath the old East River Bridge (11), which was built of limestone from Batavia quarries. Built in the mid-1850s, the old stone bridge was replaced in 1911 with a monolithic concrete bridge. When that bridge was demolished in 2007, enormous limestone blocks from the old bridge were found in its recesses, used as fill.

Look closely to see the smokestack (12) from the Challenge Co.—still standing today—through the limestone arch of the old stone bridge, and reflected in the Fox River.

On the other side of the river stands 1 East Wilson Street (13), constructed of limestone, the longtime home to Riverview Confectionery. On its roof, inspired by a bit of advertising whimsy, sits the pride of the Newton Wagon Works Co. (14).