Peter Baum & John Stender - Joliet, IL - Silhouette Public Art Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Nestled against bluffs which were once mined, a set of silhouettes give us a glimpse of life in early 19th century Joliet. This one, depicts two men working in the quarry.

There are two placards nearby. The first reads:

"STORIES IN STONE
QUARRY WORKERS

Peter Baum & John Stender

Hundreds of immigrants
toiled in Joliet's many
quarries. The Irsh were the
first to come to Joliet,
but by the 1860s many
laborers were German,
including
many
young
men in their
twenties. Among
them
were
John
Stender
and Peter
Baum,
both in
their 20s.

I&M Canal
PASSAGE"

The second placard reads:

""STORIES IN STONE
QUARRY WORKERS

Peter Baum & John Stender

The work lasted ten to
twelve hours, six days a week,
for $1.50 a day. Most work
was done by hand. wedges
were forced
into joints
and the stone
was split away
by repeated
blows from
hammers. Once
the stone was
cut from the
quarry, it was
broken into smaller
blocks. Quarries
were not open in
the winter,
so workers had to
find other jobs.

I&M Canal
PASSAGE"

Title of Piece: Peter Baum & John Stender Artist: unknown Material/Media: steel plate Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): in Joliet's Bicentennial Park. Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/16/2020 Go Boilers! visited it 06/12/2011 Metro2 visited it

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