Switzerland-based architect Manuel Herz paired with the Central Park Restoration Committee to develop a mural on the side of the Central Park Theater, a once-thriving social and cultural hub in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. The mural that extends from the building wall to the ground of the parking lot references the floor plans and domestic spaces that stood next to the building until the 1960s, and depicts Dinah Washington, the “Queen of the Blues,” civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman—all former residents of North Lawndale.  Photo 9 of 10 in How One Community-Minded Designer Is Tapping the Potential of Chicago’s Vacant Lots

How One Community-Minded Designer Is Tapping the Potential of Chicago’s Vacant Lots

9 of 10

Switzerland-based architect Manuel Herz paired with the Central Park Restoration Committee to develop a mural on the side of the Central Park Theater, a once-thriving social and cultural hub in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. The mural that extends from the building wall to the ground of the parking lot references the floor plans and domestic spaces that stood next to the building until the 1960s, and depicts Dinah Washington, the "Queen of the Blues," civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman—all former residents of North Lawndale.