Graffiti & Urbex
civil rights

Deep in Hyde Park, on the walls of a Metra underpass, there is a mural so decrepit and crumbling that you would be forgiven for missing it while walking by. The "Spirit of Hyde Park" was designed and executed by Astrid Fuller in 1973 and has suffered from lack of restoration over the past three decades. Layers of graffiti and whitewash have exaggerated the ghostliness of the mural's figures, and decaying concrete and leakage have rendered parts of the mural nearly invisible beneath the damage. Though faded, the spirit of these two young children remain.

location chicago, illinois

photographer patrick e connolly

civil rights

Deep in Hyde Park, on the walls of a Metra underpass, there is a mural so decrepit and crumbling that you would be forgiven for missing it while walking by. The "Spirit of Hyde Park" was designed and executed by Astrid Fuller in 1973 and has suffered from lack of restoration over the past three decades. Layers of graffiti and whitewash have exaggerated the ghostliness of the mural's figures, and decaying concrete and leakage have rendered parts of the mural nearly invisible beneath the damage. Though faded, the spirit of these two young children remain.

location chicago, illinois

photographer patrick e connolly