In researching a novel about the Six County Senior Olympics which takes place in part on the campus of Maine East High School, I found the following comment at Wikipedia: "The school has two pools. One is used for classes and natatorium is kept for its irreplaceable decorative mosaics, which could be damaged with further exposure to water and chemicals." For those who don't know, according to MerriamWebster.com a natatorium is an indoor swimming pool.

Curiosity piqued, I contacted Principal David Barker, who agreed to take us on a tour of the facility and graciously allowed us to photograph the mosaics of the natatorium. According to Barker, the pool was closed no later than 1982.

When asked about the origin of the tilework, Barker remembered reading that it had been part of a WPA project. I hunted for more information on the web and found a wonderful site: www.wpamurals.com. I emailed the owner of the site who shared the following:

I suspect that your principal might be right about the tiles regarding their WPA status. As you probably know, a New Deal mural was painted in the post office at 164 S. Prospect, now the School District 64 administration offices in 1940 (done by George Melville Smith, I believe) so there is a history of Park Ridge participating in the New Deal art projects.

Click on this link for more information on National New Deal Preservation Association - Midwest Chapter