Ashland, WI Historic Mural Capital of Wisconsin

We passed through Ashland on both Sunday and Monday on our way to Bayfield and noticed that some of the buildings had pictures painted on their exterior walls.  After a bit of investigation we found that the town is known for its murals.  Now we needed to go back and see them.  We did that on June 15, 2016.  I'm going to describe the murals using their brochure because I have it and I'm feeling lazy and they have better descriptions than I could come up with.  That doesn't mean I won't insert my own comments too.

The Ashland Mural Walk

#1    The Asaph Whittlesey Mural depicts the Ashland National Bank as it appeared in  1892. The bank was located on the the Main Street end of the building where the mural is painted.

 

 #2   Ellis Avenue Mural is painted on the former Lake Superior District Power Company building. This mural features Northland College's Wood Hall, The Knight Hotel and the old Ashland High School.

#3   Waitress Mural The owner of the building wanted to honor the women who raised him and had recently passed away.  The photograph was taken in front of the building the mural was painted on, in the 1940s  My comment: One of these women was the owners mother. I can't remember which one and neither can Donna.

#4   Ashland Oredock Mural  When Built in 1916, Ashlands 1800 foot Oredock was the largest concrete dock in the world.  Shipping was an integral part of Ashland.  The oredock was used by the Soo Line Railroad to transport iron ore to the ships waiting in Ashland's harbor.  The ships then delivered the ore to the steel mills of the midwest.  Many young men took up life working on the oredocks and the Great Lakes Oreboats.  Money earned at these jobs helped to further their education, helping many to advance their professional careers.  

The top portion of the mural is a "to scale" painting of the Orelock itself, including every properly numbered ore chute.  The lower section includes 21 "postcards" telling the history of the varied uses of the structure over the years.  (That was a long one, but it was a long dock)

#5  The Railroad Mural  Located near the historic Soo Line Depot building, the mural represents both the Soo Line and Chicago and the Northwestern rail lines that served Ashland.  As with most towns, the railroad was the life blood that made a great deal of it's commercial growth possible.  All of the men depicted are actual rail workers.

#6 Aviation, 1920s Jazz Era, & Schillers Shoe Store Mural.  This mural celebrates Ashland's early aviation history, its jazz past as well as the Schiller's Shoe Store, which was located in the store it's painted on.  (It wraps around the building).

#7  Storefront Mural  A compilation of various storefronts from the 1900s.  Of course the cars are a more recent addition.

#8  Lumberjack Mural  The lumberjack mural depicts the men (and one rare woman) of Ashland's lumber era, when the work day was from 4 am until dark, first freeze to first thaw.  An average days work for a pair of "sawyers" was 100 pine logs, at $1.00 a day.  In 1893, 10,000 lumberjacks worked in the logging camps to supply Ashland's ten sawmills.
It had to be hard chopping and sawing logs in a long dress, don't ya think.

#9  Veterans Mural  This mural is in honor of all the Ashland Area Military Men and Women who served our nation in various wars and conflicts.  Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.  We proudly salute them all.

All of the veterans painted in the mural are actual people from the area.  It is a portrait of local veterans representing the service that they were in, and is a tribute to them.  I must have missed taking a picture of this one, so I copied it from the brochure.

#10  1950s Snapshot Mural  A 1950s hamburger/ice cream shop at that time was in the planning stage, and the artists were asked to design a mural that would depict the 1950s era.  I am having trouble with that sentence, but I'm just typing what the pamphlet says.  The 1956 Chevy brought back memories.

#11 Dhooge's Store Mural  The mural depicts Dhooge's Grocery of Ashland in 1910.  An era when settlers were "Farming the Cut Over" and going to town for supplies often meant a two day event for area settlers.

#12  Lighthouse Mural  This mura depicts 3 Lighthouses (Devil's Island, Sand Island, and Outer Island) located within the Apostle Islands in Chequamegon (Chee-wawm-e-gon) Bay and their "keepers."

There are a total of 17 murals completed and one in progress.  One is inside the McDonalds, one at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, one at the Visitor's Center where we stopped earlier, one at the high school, and one inside a lodge outside of town.
All the murals were painted by local artists and many of the people depicted are identified by name.