A Naperville mural that lost two previous homes now has a permanent one.
"The Printed Word," a Century Walk mural depicting the evolution of written communication in Naperville, was unveiled Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the lower level of the Century Memorial Chapel at Naper Settlement (523 S. Webster St.).
The ceremony also honored Century Walk founder W. Brand Bobosky, who launched the public art nonprofit in 1996.
Mayor Scott Wehrli issued a proclamation recognizing Bobosky and Century Walk Corporation for 30 years of public art, the Chicago Tribune's Carolyn Stein first reported. The collection now spans 53 locations across the city, though the nonprofit itself has dissolved.
The mural was originally painted in 1996 on the outside of the Naperville Sun's former downtown building on Jackson Avenue. It featured former Sun publishers Harold and Eva White and other local journalists. Two years later, a Pottery Barn moved in and the mural came down.
A second version went up in 1998 on the Van Buren Avenue side of the Ellman's Music Center building on Main Street. That site was lost in early 2012 when the music store closed and Q-BBQ moved into the space.
For the third version, Bobosky in 2023 approached Orland Park-based artist Diosdado "Dodie" Morendo. The mural's original artist, Timm Etters, died in 2021. Morendo had already worked on several Century Walk pieces, and Bobosky felt confident he could recreate Etters' style, the Tribune reported.
Work started in 2023 but stalled over uncertainty about the mural's location and Century Walk funding.
"I had to pause until I decided I can't wait anymore and I'll just go continue and work on it until I'm done," Morendo said.
The updated mural features a paperboy with a horn at the center, an antique printing press on the left and a 3D printer on the right. The third edition also adds Positively Naperville and its publisher, Stephanie Penick, who started the paper in 2001.
Bobosky told the crowd he hopes the mural teaches children about the history of communication. The chapel's lower level is frequently used for field trips and camps, Naper Settlement President and CEO Rena Tamayo-Calabrese said, according to the Tribune.
Bobosky noted that about half of Century Walk's 53 pieces sit on private property. He valued the full collection at $4.5 million, with roughly half funded by private donors and the rest from the city and other sources, Positively Naperville reported.
Collection highlights include Laughing Lincoln in Central Park and Dick Tracy on the Riverwalk. Every piece is free to visit, and the full guide is available at centurywalk-artguide.org.
