Love Letter to Cleveland

The Michael Schwartz Library is the new home for the Love Letter to Cleveland mural. The 58-foot art piece, which chronicles the history and national influence of the city, was installed on the third floor of the library outside the Office of Special Collections, which houses the Cleveland Memory Project.

“I can’t imagine a more appropriate home for this stunning piece which celebrates our great city, was created by lifelong Cleveland artists and was entirely funded by donations from Clevelanders,” says William Barrow, head of special collections at the library. “The Cleveland Memory Project is dedicated to preserving our shared history and there could be no better ‘welcome sign’ than this mural.”

Drawn by illustrator Gary Dumm and colored by his wife Laura, Love Letter to Cleveland depicts many of Cleveland’s most famous landmarks, including the West Side Market, the Free Stamp and the Guardians of Traffic statues. It also celebrates a number of prominent Cleveland and national personalities, including John D. Rockefeller, Jesse Owens, Harvey Pekar, Eliot Ness and Ghoulardi.

Completed in 2013, Love Letter to Cleveland was originally installed on the side of the Orange Blossom Press building in Ohio City, steps away from the West Side Market. When the mural succumbed after several years to Cleveland weather, the artists began a search for a new home. Barrow proposed the library as a new location and a GoFundMe campaign was completed to finance the reprint.