Streator library begins mural restoration project

Library receives $139,075 in federal matching funds

A representative from Parma Conservation examines one of the murals beneath the Streator Public Library rotunda.

The Streator Public Library’s dome and murals are considered a local treasure, and now federal grant funding will ensure they are preserved for generations.

The library, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will receive $139,075 in matching funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Save America’s Treasures grant program to restore its four murals.

The library, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will receive $139,075 in matching funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Save America’s Treasures grant program to restore its four murals. A representative from Parma Conservation of Chicago examines one of the murals as library trustees look on.

Work will begin Monday, Feb. 13, and involve a platform to be set up. In order to keep patrons safe, Library Director Cindy Maxwell said the library will be closed that Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 14. When the library reopens Maxwell said the circulation desk will be moved to the adult computers area of the building. The front entrance also will be closed and patrons will be asked to enter through the back of the building.

“We will rope things off and have signs posted to direct people,” Maxwell said.

She said the work must be completed by Oct. 31 to comply with the grant, but work, which will be split into three phases, is expected to conclude at the end of September.

In November 2020, library trustees hosted a representative from Parma Conservation, a Chicago mural preservation company, to view the murals underneath the library’s rotunda, and then the trustees went to work shortly after raising more than $140,000 from the community.

The murals have never been cleaned since they were installed in 1905 and severe smoke damage occurred to the murals in 1945 when the library had a fire in the boiler room. The oil on canvas murals in the library’s rotunda were painted by Chicago artist Gustav Fuchs, who is best known for painting the Arch of Triumph for the Chicago Worlds Fair.

“The fact we had a painting by Fuchs drew interest by the preservation company,” said Board President David Reed.

One of the murals at the Streator Public Library is examined. The library will receive a matching grant of about $140,000 to restore the murals, which were damaged following a boiler room fire.

The murals were painted on leather in a local shop and installed in the Carnegie Library in 1905. Fuchs wife has a Streator connection, which drew the artist, Reed said.

The work coincides with the library’s 120th anniversary. With the combination of recent work to restore the library’s dome and cleaning of the murals, Maxwell said the work will return the building to its glory.

“This is a huge deal,” Maxwell said. “Many thanks to our community for its continued support of the library.”

Library trustees said they were impressed with the preservation company’s visit, in which representatives showed them just how different the color will be once the paintings are cleaned.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. The agency advances, supports and empowers America’s museums, libraries and related organizations through grantmaking, research and policy development.

“Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities,” the agency said.

Streator’s grant number is ST-252539-OMS-22.

Streator Public Library