Ottawans regularly marched in parades, cheered for them or stood transfixed along the route as the city hosted this most universal of celebrations. Parades brought people together, and brought them to a vibrant and bustling downtown.

Artist Joshua Winer envisioned a parade as a means of populating Ottawa’s unique architectural landscape. He wove prominent citizens and familiar faces in to the painting as marchers or bystanders. Mayor Phil Bailey doffs his top hat, and State’s Attorney Harland Warren raises his hand in a wave. Warren gained prominence during the area’s most
notorious murder case, the Starved Rock Murders.

Along the route are Ottawa residents who, then and now, have enriched our community and given Ottawa its distinctive character. The muralist captured a pivotal decade which was defined by a mixture of complacency and unrest. Ottawa, like America, emerged from the decade stronger, wiser and ready to sprint forward into the 21st century!