Remembering a bit of the city’s past
Most people have likely heard that a new Kwik Trip is proposed to be built on the site of the former Econofoods on the west end of town. The work for the Kwik Trip will include the demolition of the old Econofoods grocery store. I can understand that since the building is old, has been out of use since the store closed in 2011 and, from what I’ve heard, is in need of a lot of repairs. On the other hand, a part of me will be sorry to see the two murals on the east side of the structure go down. One of the paintings is a map of the Czech Republic, the other is a seal of that country.
In the last 15 years or so there have been a total of four murals that have been lost. The majority of them have had to do with the community’s history. One mural had been on the east side of what is now Snap Fitness. At one time the building was a drug store and the painting was of New Prague’s Dr. E.E. Novak and Jake Remes, who was one of the city’s first pharmacists. Dr. Novak served the community for nearly 70 years and was involved in local and state politics. When the drugstore went through a refurbishing project, the mural was covered up. Another mural was of one of the city’s founders, Anton Philipp, that was lost due to a building fire. The passive face of Mr. Philipp stared from the structure that sat at the northwest corner where Main Street intersects with Central Avenue N. Two of the city’s past murals were painted over. One was of the New Prague Orchestra, sitting ready with instruments as if to entertain the onlooker. It was on a building near Wells Fargo Bank. The other was on the north side of the former Highlander Laundry, featuring a Scotsman in traditional garb holding bagpipes. In the background were woodlands stopping at cliffs dropping into the sea with a fishing boat bobbing in the distance. There were a few others lost before I came to New Prague.
Currently, with the two murals on the grocery building, the city has seven. Four of them have to do with the city’s history and can be found along Main Street. One is near where Main Street and Columbus Avenue cross and is on the New Prague Municipal Building. It features two paintings, one with a city employee standing in front of a power generator and the other is an exterior of the 1903 city powerhouse with an early water tower next to it. Another is at the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue NE on the Back and Neck Clinic and is a mural left over from when the building was a drug store. The painting of an eagle with the name of the drug store had been fading, but a few years ago, it was restored. Going west on Main Street a person can find a painting of the 1906 Bohemian Brass Band on the building that now houses Edward Jones Investments. While chipped in some places, the mural has a line up, with names of the band’s members. A little further west is the final historical mural on West Town Mall with its various shops. It has paintings of one of New Prague’s earliest schools and identifies three students from 1922. The other one is of a more fanciful design, and is behind Merchants on Main. It shows the exterior of an old world style cafe.
I understand that tastes change and sometimes there isn’t anything anyone can do to prevent certain events from happening, but I still find it a shame when we lose a bit of history.
