The Four Freedoms

 The Four Freedoms Mural was initially painted by artist David McDonald in 1994, but was destroyed, when the original building it was on was torn down. The current Four Freedoms murals were painted by artist Tonya Smithburg in 2015.  This mural is located at 990 North First Street. The Four Freedoms refers to a phrase coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the darkest days of World War II, intended to encourage the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. The paintings were originally created by beloved American Artist, Norman Rockwell, in 1943, and first published in the Saturday Evening Post. The Rockwell paintings, were carried from coast to coast, by a special Freedom Train, to promote the purchase of war bonds. Fifty years later, the city of Silverton, commissioned artist David McDonald, to reproduce the famous paintings, as a mural. It stands as a proud reminder of the sacrifices made by the men and women of the Armed Forces, in the yester-years, as well as today.

The Four Freedoms Placard – 2015

The Four Freedom’s Placard was painted by artist Larry Kassell. The original Four Freedoms mural was painted on the old Masonic Lodge on Main Street. The old lodge was razed in 2015 and replaced with the MAPS Credit Union. The cost of moving the Normal Rockwell’s Four Freedoms mural was too expensive to move and a without guarantee of success.

The building owner and the city raised moneys to repaint the mural and commissioned artist Tonya Smithburg to repaint the Four Freedoms Mural in its current location at 990 North 1^st Street in 2015. The Placard was placed onsite to memorialize the repainting of the Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms mural.