Builders (After Jacob Lawrence)

Public Mural by Langston Allston

On view from February through March 2023 was a monumental mural by the artist Langston Allston. Installed on the façade of the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E Wacker Dr, this work takes inspiration from Jacob Lawrence's series of “Builder” paintings, as well as the monumental murals of Diego Rivera, to represent a world where communities have control of the built environment surrounding them, to maintain and reuse in ways that suit their needs. A world where design protects and elevates people in innovative and empathic ways.

The mural uses the façade of the now demolished Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville as a backdrop. While the original structure is gone, there is still value in preserving its memory, both as a work of classic Chicago architecture & as the site of numerous globally significant advances in medicine. Michael Reese Hospital was created with the intention of serving all people through care and medical research.

Artist's Statement

“Inspired by The Builders paintings of Jacob Lawrence and the monumental murals of Diego Rivera, this work presents a world where design protects and elevates people — an inspired vision of communities controlling their surrounding built environment, maintaining and reusing it in ways that suit their collective needs.”

About the Mural

The figures are foregrounded against a dreamlike representation of Michael Reese Hospital (Schmidt, Garden & Martin, 1907; demolished 2012), which the artist based on concept drawings for the main building (see inset at left). Established in 1887, the teaching hospital and pioneering research institution provided care to the Bronzeville neighborhood for over a century, serving all people regardless of race or nationality—a mission the artist resurrects in this work. Though most of the hospital campus is lost, there remains value in celebrating its architectural and cultural memory.

About the Artist

Langston Allston is a painter and muralist working between Chicago and New Orleans. He is committed to creating work that tells stories from his community honestly and compassionately. He finds inspiration for his work in the everyday moments of beauty. His work has been featured at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art in Brooklyn, and is in the permanent collection of the City of New Orleans. Langston has created public art throughout Chicago for community organizations like the Bloc and the Mural Movement, as well as artwork for the Chicago Bulls & Chicago White Sox.