From the Chicago Park District website (
visit link)
"Samuel Gompers Monument
LOCATION: South of W. Foster Avenue and West of N. Pulaski Avenue
INSTALLED: 2007
SCULPTOR: Susan Clinard
This bronze sculpture memorializes Samuel Gompers (1850–1924), an important figure in the American labor movement. Born in London to a poor family of Jewish immigrants from Holland, Gompers began working with his father as a cigar maker at the age of ten. He continued this work after he and his family settled on New York’s Lower East Side in 1863. The following year, he joined the United Cigar Makers and became increasingly concerned about conditions for workers and relations between labor organizations. He was elected as the president of the Cigar Markers’ International Union in 1875 and went on to help found the Federation of Trade and Labor Unions, which was later reorganized as the American Federation of Labor. Gompers served as the organization’s first and longest –serving president. Known today as the AFL-CIO, this federation continues to be one of the country’s most powerful labor organizations.
Nearly forty different labor unions worked together for several years to commission the Samuel Gompers Monument. A major donation from the Edward M. Marx Foundation helped make the project possible. The life-size bronze figure was sculpted by Susan Clinard, an artist who lived and worked in Chicago for twelve years prior to relocating to West Haven, Connecticut. Clinard came back to Chicago for the monument’s unveiling ceremony on Labor Day, 2007. State and local government officials joined many voices from labor unions around the state in honoring the memory of this important advocate for American workers. Larry Spivack, President of the Illinois Labor History Society, asserted that the new Gompers Monument serves as a reminder of the rights that workers possess to organize and bargain collectively for wages and other benefits—rights that Samuel Gompers championed."
From a newsrelease at the time
"Samuel Gompers Statue Unveiled
CHICAGO, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- A statue of Samuel Gompers, an
influential leader of the American labor movement and the first president
of the American Federation of Labor, was unveiled Monday in Gompers Park,
Foster and Pulaski Avenues.
Ald. Margaret Laurino, 39th, Dennis Gannon, president of the Chicago
Federation of Labor, and Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois
AFL-CIO, presided at the Labor Day Ceremony.
"It is a fitting tribute that we unveil this statue of Samuel Gompers
on Labor Day," said Ald. Laurino. "Because on this day, we not only honor
the brothers and sisters who keep the spirit of Samuel Gompers alive, we
salute all those who have dedicated themselves to improving the quality of
life for everyone."
Gannon said, "Samuel Gompers is responsible in many ways for shaping
the modern labor movement. Because of his vision and leadership, organized
labor has been able to do the things it's done to protect the rights of
working men and women over the last 120 years."
"Erecting this monument for all to see is another visible and constant
reminder of Labor's historic impact on the City of Chicago and the entire
nation," said Carrigan. "We are, in effect, rededicating ourselves to this
never-ending struggle to raise up low-wage workers and to protect all
workers rights."
The life-size bronze statue was sculpted by Susan Clinard whose work
has been exhibited internationally. She has taught at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago, the Palette and Chisel Academy and at Gallery 37."
Gompers Park provides a small retreat from the city's hustle & bustle. Take a walk on the various paths and observe the landscaping that takes advantage of the nearby Chicago River branch. Also, across the street is the Bohemian National Cemetery, which I have also loaded with waymarks.