Mural comes down on former Birchbark Books and Gifts building

Once the mural came down a team of workers opened up long blocked off windows at the former Birchbark and Gifts store. Staff photos Brian Larsen

A much loved Northwoods – themed public paint-by-number mural designed by local artist Mila Horak was removed from the north side of the wall of the former Birchbark Books & Gifts building on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

It has yet to be determined whether it can be returned to the wall from which it was taken.

The 6,500-square-foot former bookstore and gift shop was purchased by the Cook County Real Estate Fund and their partner, REVocity, who gutted the interior and are renovating the entire structure. The building was sold by husband and wife Tim and Beth Kennedy who are also part of the team of buyers.

When the inside space is completed, the First and Second Thrift Store will move into one half of the new area, while the other half will be offices, one with a front street entry and an additional entry (or more) from the rear or side of the building.

Since the first piece was erected, the colorful mural has graced the office window space across the alley from the Cook County News-Herald, brightening up an otherwise drab cement block wall.

In 2016 Mila Horak stood next to the first of many Northwoods themed murals she designed for the north wall of the former Birchbark Books and Gifts store that is now under total renovation.

With annual grants from the Great Place Project, a collaboration between the Cook County Chamber of Commerce and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s Moving Matters Project, and lots of help from the public, I.S.D. 166 art teacher Mila Horak was able to yearly add story telling blocks of art to the mural she started in 2016.

The first mural depicts a young girl resting against a birch tree, reading a book. In the warmer months the brightly colored piece draws dozens of people daily to get pictures taken in front of it or alongside the artwork.

In 2019 the design was “inspired by Ojibwe bead art, as a tribute to the late Norman Deschampe, recognizing all of his contributions to the community… and it also celebrated the election of Beth Drost who became the first woman to Chair the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa until she was defeated by Robert (Bobby) Deschampe on August 21, 2020.

It was a relatively warm (25F) Tuesday when Jeffrey Liljestrand Jr. (J.J.) carefully removed the mural pieces from the wall. JJ and a helper gently placed the pieces in the back of his truck.

JJ knows the mural well; he helped put it up through the years with Horak.

Each mural is made up of four 4×4 foot metal panels that are placed four across and four high. The paint used is weather resistant; so far, even the fiercest winds or snowstorms haven’t damaged any the murals.

After Mila has drawn the outline of the artwork on the panels, she numbers them. The panels are then taken to Harbor Park over the weekend annual art fair, where young and older people help paint them with Mila’s guidance.

Liljestrand and his co-worker drove the mural to Mila Horak’s garage, where it will be stored until it can be put back somewhere else for the public to enjoy.