Curtis Center Gets Historical Marker Honoring Dream Garden Artist
Image via Google Street View
In a move we imagine will only add to The Curtis Center‘s ongoing spruce-up, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has honored it with a historical marker in recognition of Dream Garden, the Maxfield Parrish mural adorning the lobby.
In a press release, the president of Keystone Property Group, the firm who partnered with Mack-Cali Realty Corporation for the Curtis’s revitalization, lauded the glass mosaic, which has been on view in the Curtis’s marble lobby since 1916, and its cultural significance:
“Parrish’s Dream Garden has long been central to the allure of The Curtis, and this marker is a fitting tribute to such an exemplary piece of work,” said Bill Glazer, President of Keystone Property Group, which acquired The Curtis in 2014 in partnership with Mack-Cali. “As we redevelop and revitalize this iconic building into a vibrant mixed-use hub, we’re excited to continue to work to preserve its rich cultural significance.”
Photo courtesy of Beckerman PR.
The marker was unveiled during a Wednesday dedication outside The Curtis, with Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts representatives and city and state officials in attendance. Parrish, a Philadelphia native and master illustrator who pioneered commercial and graphic art, is a PAFA alumnus. The piece’s new distinction is a special one considering PHMC’s Historical Marker Program approves a limited percentage of the requests it receives.
Cyrus Curtis, publisher of the Saturday Evening Post, commissioned the 100,000-piece mosaic (which extends by 15 x 49 feet) for the lobby of his Curtis Publishing Company Building’s Philadelphia headquarters in 1915.
• Previous Curtis Center coverage [Property]
