The main section of the mural is based on this 1920 photo of the Blue Goose market, shown here superimposed on it's original location at 2901-2903 N. Milwaukee. (photo courtesy of Stanley Zielinski family)
THE BLUE GOOSE MURAL
Epic mural by David Orozco honoring the past, present, and future of immigrant, working-class small businesses on Milwaukee Avenue between Kimball and Central Park.
The Blue Goose Market opened in 1920 at 2901 N Milwaukee Avenue soon after the 1918 flu pandemic. Milwaukee Avenue was crowded with shops started by a flood of recent immigrants. By the early 1930’s the Blue Goose was gone. It went out of business giving away food to its neighbors during the Great Depression.
Since then, this stretch of Milwaukee Avenue between Kimball and Central Park has seen its ups and downs, but it has always been a haven for a diverse community of working-class entrepreneurs. The Blue Goose mural celebrates this past and present to encourage this tradition to continue into the future.
The Milwaukee Avenue Alliance chose David Orozco to paint the mural. He grew up near Humboldt Park and now lives in Belmont Cragin with his wife, four children, three dogs and two cats. David honed his airbrush technique on the streets. He’s been painting since he was 11 and now supports himself and his family by doing commissioned murals.
A news story by Medill School of Journalism grad student Esther Bower about the Blue Goose mural in progress, March 14, 2020.
Before the Blue Goose mural, 2901-2903 N. Milwaukee, Chicago