In 1940, Chicago’s historic Cherry Avenue Bridge shook with activity, as trains regularly rolled over its tracks onto Goose Island. It caught the attention of local artist Walter A. Mazeski, mesmerized by the colors and subject. One day, he sat down by the shore to paint what he saw, but more than 85 years later, the same scene is hardly recognizable!
The artist Walter A. Mazeski
Walter Adolph Mazeski was born in 1909 in Globe, Arizona, to Polish immigrants John and Josephine. His father worked as a miner, supporting his wife Josephine and child. Then, around 1911, the Mazeski family moved to Chicago, joining the large Polish community there. John found work as a tinsmith, but little did he know that one day, his son would also become a talented creator in his own right.
The fine arts attracted Walter from an early age. He grew in prominence in the 1930s, when he studied painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. At the age of 25, in October 1934, he won first prize in a poster contest sponsored by the Keep Chicago Safe Committee. The committee would reproduce his artwork all throughout the city.1 Then in 1937, he and fellow Art Institute students Adam Szwejkowski, and Norbert Czarnowski, received a Kosciusko Foundation scholarship to study in Poland — including at the International School of Art in Warsaw. That same year a book on the history of Poles in Chicago was published, which said the following about Walter:
Another native Chicagoan who has exhibited at the Art Institute on more than one occasion is Walter Mazeski. As a painter he is exhibiting an unusually interesting personality. His work is individual in treatment and color harmony. He is also interested in sculpture.2
Following his formal training, Walter did commercial art for some 30 years. He then free-lanced, painting, carving, and sculpting, well into his golden years. The Mount Prospect Journal ran a piece on him in 1987, titled “Going Strong on 70 Years as Artist.” It outlined his life and featured a large photo of him standing proudly with his tools. His imagination knew no bounds as he traveled extensively throughout the world for inspiration and branched out into different art. The abstract, for example, caught him by surprise in the early 1970s and became an obsession.3
He would die two years after the newspaper article in 1989. Although long deceased, he left behind a rich legacy and to this day, his art continues to bring joy into people’s lives.
Painting Cherry Avenue Bridge, 1940
In 1940, Mazeski set up his easel on the northern point of Chicago’s Goose Island. From this secluded vacant spot, adjacent to a freight yard, he painted his work titled Goose Island RR Bridge. In it, Cherry Avenue Bridge spans the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River. Crossing its span is a man carrying what might be his lunch box. Stopped on the canal is a tugboat, with smoke bellowing out from its funnel. On the opposite side of the canal are a mix of buildings, commercial and industrial, with smokestacks and a water tower silhouetted against the sky. All the while, birds soar through the air. Then in the bottom left-hand corner stands a man waving his arm — possibly at the artist.
The bridge played an integral role in the industrial development of Goose Island more than a century ago. Built in 1902, by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, it allowed trains onto the island, serving many factories and plants. Its span had a single track that with machinery, located inside a control house, orange in Mazeski’s painting, could be swung towards the shore. Boats could then pass the structure.
Mazeski’s picture captures a relatively peaceful moment in a hectic city. It evokes a quiet, contemplative mood rather than bustling energy. Muted earth tones are mixed with cool blues and grays, punctuated with accents like the red tugboat and yellow sign. The soft sky and gentle blending of colors reduce the harshness of the subject matter.
In composition, it is asymmetrical but carefully balanced. The bridge dominates the right side and acts as a strong vertical and horizontal anchor. Adding depth to the scene is the tugboat, partially obstructed by the riverbank, and telephone wires zigzagging across the image.
Mazeski’s talents in “treatment and color harmony,” as described in 1937, are fully on display.
This fantastic artwork has survived thanks to Mazeski’s family. Tucked away in a portfolio with other pieces, it surfaced at his granddaughter’s estate sale in January 2026. The portfolio was lying on a bumper pool table in the basement, on the second day of the sale, where I found it. Who knows what other treasures I missed on the first day!
The bridge as it stands today
Fast forward 85 years, Cherry Avenue Bridge still stands proudly in its exact spot. Nonetheless, standing in the same spot where Mazeski once painted from, the view is hardly the same. The artist did take some artistic licensing in his creation, like exaggerating human forms and the bridge structure, making it narrower than it actually is. Dramatically more different is the environment. No longer does gritty industry hug this stretch of the Chicago River. Instead, where warehouses, factories, and silos, once stood, are stores, offices, self-storage, and trees.
The bridge is fully accessible to pedestrians today. More than a decade ago, the city removed the rails approaching the bridge from the north, ending train traffic on Goose Island. Now, it’s a great spot to relax or sit down to enjoy a meal.
Sources
- “To Warn Against Auto Peril,” in Chicago Daily Times (Chicago, IL), October 14, 1934, p.16. Available at: https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC0126050116540036868901778023187 (accessed May 5, 2026).
- Polish Pageant, Inc., Poles of Chicago, 1837-1937: A History of One Century of Polish Contribution to the City of Chicago, Illinois (Chicago: American Catalogue Printing Co, 1937), p.42. Available at: ia600607.us.archive.org/9/items/polesofchicago1800zgle/polesofchicago1800zgle.pdf (accessed May 2, 2026).
- Mark Billings, “Going Strong on 70 Years as Artist,” in The Journal (Mount Prospect, IL), January 28, 1987, p.5MP. This specific issue has not been digitized but may be archived by the Journal & Topics Media Group in Des Plaines. A copy of the article was found by the author at the estate of Walter Mazeski’s granddaughter.