The current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS) offers glimpses into how the Beverly Hills and Morgan Park neighborhoods appeared over 100 years ago, through the watercolor paintings of artist Louise Barwick and other media.
Today the street lights come on automatically thanks to electrical wiring, but just envision how once the lamplighter rode his bicycle around the neighborhood, lighting the gas lamps by hand.
This painting is “Lamplighter” painted in 1895.
The scene occurred on Belmont Avenue (now Seeley) south of 103rd Street. The partial view is of the house at 10330 Seeley, where the Barwick family lived.
The caption for the painting: The lamp lighter rode on his bicycle, carrying his short ladder and the gaslight taper.
Here are a few comments on the current Ridge Historical Society exhibit, “Louise Barwick’s Lost Ridge”:
Linda Lamberty, RHS Historian and Exhibit Co-Curator:
“It’s a visual experience …. I’m hoping people will sit with their coffee in the morning, looking out on their yards, and try to picture it the way it once was – and the way it was so loved by people in the community. We LOVE this neighborhood today, but 100+ years ago our predecessors loved a vastly different landscape just as much. This place is just uniquely special and has always been cherished.”
M.M., college educator, exhibit visitor:
“I have enjoyed lingering & lingering over the panels from the Louise Barwick exhibit; I can't stop gazing at them & rereading them, over & over.
“The relationship between the text and the images that the viewer's imagination feels enraptured by, is really an education unto itself. I love the experience of flowing back and forth, between the words and the visuals. It triggers the exhilaration of REAL learning."
“Louise Barwick’s Lost Ridge” is open to the public on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment (call 773/881-1675 or email ridgehistory@hotmail.com). Admission is free. RHS is located at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue in Chicago.