Fruition

Fruition, 2004

Christine Rojek

North Park Village, Peterson Park

5801 North Pulaski Road

North Park Village and Peterson Park occupy land that was once the Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium. From 1915 to 1974, the 160-acre area was used as a refuge for tuberculosis patients who were isolated from the rest of the city. 

In the late 1970s, the city then began redeveloping the land as a nature center, senior housing area and park. In 1978, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved an ordinance stipulating that a one percent of the cost of constructing or renovating municipal buildings be used to commission or purchase artworks, The Public Art Program was developed to implement that mission. Rojek’s sculpture, part of this Program, was inspired by the history of the park and commemorates the patient’s isolation as well as a celebration of his or her victory over tuberculosis.