A concrete wall at Blue Island's Rock Island Metra station that sat as an eyesore for decades now carries the painted memory of a strike that once brought federal troops into the city. The mural, unveiled last Friday at Vermont Street and Irving Avenue, depicts angry men raising their fists alongside expressionless federal troops near the railroad tracks, a scene pulled directly from Blue Island's role in the 1894 Pullman Strike.
The Blue Island Historical Society commissioned local artist Ricardo “NACO” Gonzalez to transform the wall, according to the Chicago Tribune. Gonzalez, who has painted murals for a decade including many around Blue Island, trained as an illustrator and holds a B.F.A. from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the school he discussed in an interview with Remezcla.
Kevin Brown, executive director of the Blue Island Historical Society, called the wall an eyesore for decades before the project began, per the Tribune's report. Brown said Blue Island played a significant role in early labor movements that pushed to establish unions and fair working conditions, framing the mural as a way to reconnect residents with that history.
Two Summers Turning Research Into Paint
Gonzalez spent the first few months of the project researching and submitting sketches before picking up a brush, the Tribune reported. The historical society supplied him with research materials, newspaper articles, Chicago Tribune political cartoons and historical photographs to guide the imagery. He then studied those photographs and cartoons closely for poses and facial expressions, aiming to translate black-and-white records into a scene that felt alive.
The entire mural took about two summers to complete, according to the same report. Gonzalez worked mostly alone, though friends and his father pitched in to help prime the wall before painting began. Because the original historical images were black-and-white, Gonzalez said he chose his colors intentionally for the finished piece.
Gonzalez said he wanted the mural to be aesthetically pleasing and to invite community members to stop and contemplate what they're looking at, rather than simply walk past it. He also wanted the imagery to be accessible to people unfamiliar with the history behind it, telling the Tribune that even someone who knows nothing about the Pullman Strike should be able to look at the wall and understand that a protest is happening. Gonzalez added that he cares about Blue Island and its people and wants them to enjoy the mural.
What Actually Happened in Blue Island in 1894
The unrest depicted on the wall traces back to Pullman Palace Car Company owner George Pullman, who cut workers' wages in 1894 without offering any relief on rents in the company-owned town, according to the Blue Island Historical Society. Pullman ignored workers' concerns, and roughly three thousand Pullman workers walked off their jobs on May 11, 1894, according to the Newberry Library.
Blue Island residents soon found themselves in the middle of the fight. The historical society's account describes how Blue Island workers detained trains carrying Pullman cars in the Rock Island yard, while local hotels and restaurants refused to serve passengers traveling on those trains. The Rock Island Railroad had long been central to the city's growth, playing an important role in Blue Island's early development, according to the City of Blue Island.
The strike escalated into violence that June. On June 29, 1894, railroad workers in Blue Island tore trains from their rails and set fire to a number of railcars following a peaceful rally led by Eugene V. Debs, the Newberry Library's archive notes. The very next day, two Rock Island railroad workers derailed a slow-moving locomotive attached to a U.S. Mail train south of the Vermont Street station, according to the historical society.
Federal Troops and a Nationwide Boycott
By late June, the Pullman Strike had expanded into a far more expansive nationwide boycott of Pullman sleeping cars after the company refused to address workers' grievances, per the Newberry Library. President Grover Cleveland responded by dispatching 10,000 federal troops to protect railroad property in Chicago and cities throughout the West, the archive states.
In Blue Island itself, Company C of the 15th U.S. Infantry arrived during the morning hours of July 4, 1894, to quell the railroad workers' actions, according to the historical society's account. Blue Island resident Ferdinand Schapper photographed the federal troops occupying the city during that period, images the historical society says it drew on while assembling research for Gonzalez's mural.
A Push for Landmark Status
Now the historical society is working to get the mural site designated as an official state landmark, the Tribune reported. Brown also said the mural could mark the start of greater development in the area, noting that the surrounding land near two Metra stations carries development potential. That claim about future development remains Brown's assessment rather than a confirmed plan, and no further details on timeline or scope have been reported.
