Milwaukee Washington Heights Gets New “Dream Library” Mural

Milwaukee’s Washington Heights Neighborhood completed an installation of a mural known as The Heights Dream Library this past Fall, and it showcases shelves of book spines with meaningful titles made up by donors who contributed to the making of the mural.

The original idea for the Dream Library came from Dan Schley, the owner of the building with the mural, which is located on the corner of 57^th and Vliet Streets, and the project was sponsored by the Washington Heights Neighborhood Association.

Schley said he bought the building in 2001, and ever since then he’s wanted to put something on that wall. He said the idea to have someone paint a bookshelf there came up because of the way books have played a big part in his and his family’s life.

“Books and literacy have always been a part of who we are so why not share it with the world on that wall?” said Schley.

The building is home to not only the Vintage Glass Garden but also the Rainbow Book Store, which was another reason for their decision to make the mural book-related.

According to Schley, the Milwaukee Arts Board grant paid $5,000 of the total cost, which was approximately $11,000. The rest was paid by members of the community after he and his family set up a Facebook fundraiser.

After that, the committee decided on the artist Fred Kaems to design and paint the mural after 10 different artists reached out. Kaems has also been working on several other murals all around the Milwaukee area. He says that public art pieces like this one are important to the community and that they can brighten up the city.

The number of murals like this one in the Milwaukee area have increased substantially over the past few years. Schley and Kaems both agreed that art has a positive impact on the community, especially during the pandemic.

The people who contributed at least $500 toward the Dream Library mural got the opportunity to choose a title for one of the books on the shelves. Some examples include Good Times at the Times, which is a reference to The Times Cinema three blocks away and Taking Care of Yourself and Others.

According to Schley, one of the names on the spine of a book is titled The Greatest Gift and the author of the book is a kidney donor for the father of one of the families’ who donated.

Eventually, the Facebook group for the project opened up for suggestions from others online for suggestions on a book title for the mural. According to Schley, they received over 500 submissions.

“We couldn’t use them all, but it was so much fun to see the buzz,” he said. “They started dreaming up ideas, and in 2020 there’s not a lot of that going on.”

But a majority of the design for the bookshelf came primarily from Kaem’s mind, such as the different found objects found on the bookshelf. He said he began an interest in mural painting from his fascination with graffiti art when he was younger and he says his approach to mural painting has changed a lot since then.

“I was so enthralled by it that I wanted to do a version of it myself,” Kaems said. “But it wasn’t until the past five or six years that I wanted to push forward and take the concept beyond a simple flat painting that could go on any wall and start making the pieces influenced by where they were.”

Schley mentioned how many people he and his family have noticed stopping to look at the mural and take pictures throughout the day.

“The more art we put up in our cities, the more life it will give to people,” he said. “Right now, we aren’t getting a lot of other ways of enjoying art since the theaters and museums are closed.”

Kaems said he has also seen people being moved by public art he’s made during the pandemic year.

“I was at another job site, and a woman got out of her car and said ‘oh my god it’s so beautiful,” said Kaems. That’s not why I do it, but I improved that woman’s day. The world’s a pretty crazy place, especially right now.”