Batavia’s Peace Bridge: A symbol of community unity
In downtown Batavia, Illinois, a simple message, 12 feet high, is etched in permanent, illuminated steel against the sky: “PEACE ON EARTH.” Reflecting in the waters of the Fox River, the display is a beloved community icon, a “symbol of harmony and unity.” The view from the nearby Wilson Street bridge is so popular that it has been called probably the most photographed part of Batavia.
The structure bearing this message — the Peace Bridge — serves as a critical pedestrian and bicycle link, uniting the east and west sides of the community. But this iconic status was never part of its original design.
The bridge’s transformation from a simple piece of municipal infrastructure into a celebrated landmark, and now the focus of a multimillion dollar public works project, is a history written by community vision, grass-roots volunteerism, and the determined dream of a local barber.
This is the story of how a functional span, installed in 1998, was first adopted by the public, then officially christened by a petition, and ultimately rebuilt and redefined by the very community it serves.
The Span Itself: A Riverwalk’s Missing Link (1998)
The bridge’s physical history began in 1998, when the functional bicycle-pedestrian span was installed. Its construction was a feat of civil engineering: a crane hoisted the bridge into place in sections over the Fox River. The structure, composed of metal girders and a deck of wood planks, was set on top a single concrete pier in the middle of the river.
Geographically, it became a vital downtown connector, spanning the river from a location in front of Batavia City Hall on the west bank to a walkway on the east bank connecting with North River Street. This location is adjacent to the Jeffery D. Schielke Government Center.
However, the 1998 installation was not a standalone event. It was the capstone of a much larger, multiyear community endeavor: the creation of the Batavia Riverwalk. This “jewel of the Batavia Park District” was a cooperative effort by the park district, the city, and a dedicated group of community members. The Riverwalk was built over a six-year period, from 1991 to 1998, using primarily volunteer labor, donated material, and services.
This massive volunteer project, which raised over $1.2 million in funds and another $1 million in-kind, included the installation of an 80-foot clear span bridge. This bridge is the span that would, more than a decade later, be known as the Peace Bridge. From its very inception, the bridge’s DNA was one of community-driven, volunteer-led effort. But for its first few years, it was simply a functional crossing, an unnamed component of the Fox River Trail system.
“A Barber’s Dream”: The Birth of an Icon (Early 2000s)
For years, the 1998 pedestrian bridge served its functional purpose without a name. Its transformation into a symbol began with the vision of one person: Craig Foltos, the owner of the Foltos Tonsorial Parlor.
Two decades ago, Foltos had a dream to place 12-foot “PEACE ON EARTH” letters on the bridge. This was not a city-funded art project. It was a grass-roots, community effort. Foltos, along with volunteers who donated resources and time, personally built the original set of letters. He then donated to the park district the letters as well as the lighting designed to illuminate the Peace on Earth message.
In partnership with the Batavia Park District, this donation began a beloved annual tradition that lasted for over a decade. Every year, park district workers would hang the message of hope on the bridge’s superstructure. The letters would be displayed seasonally, from Thanksgiving until the end of January.
Foltos’s motivation was simple and heartfelt. “If the sign can make people think about peace for a little bit, that’s a good thing,” he stated in a 2013 interview. “It helps bring civility to the community, and it makes you feel better to think peaceful things.” This act of civic art, driven by a local barber and his friends, was the symbolic birth of the Peace Bridge.
From Petition to Plaque: How the “Peace Bridge” Got Its Name (2011)
Despite the growing popularity of the seasonal sign, the bridge itself remained officially unnamed. The “Peace Bridge” was a public nickname, not a formal designation.
Craig Foltos, who had brought the sign into existence, took the next step to cement its identity. He organized a petition campaign, gathering signatures from “200 and half again as many” of his customers and fellow residents. The petition asked the Batavia Park District to formally adopt the name the community was already using.
The effort was successful. In 2011, the Batavia Park Board voted to officially change the name of the bridge to “The Peace Bridge.”
To commemorate the decision, a plaque located at the west end of the bridge was installed. The plaque, which Foltos noted brought him to tears when he first read it, tells the story of the crossing and the Peace on Earth sign. Thirteen years after its physical construction, the bridge finally had its official name, one that was earned through community action, not assigned by a planner.
From Temporary to Permanent: The Community Rallies (2022-23)
By 2022, the original, volunteer-made letters were “showing signs of wear” after 14 years of seasonal installation and removal. That March, the Batavia Park board approved a request to keep the letters up year-round, a decision that accelerated the need for a more durable, permanent solution.
This need sparked a new generation of community action, formalizing Foltos’s original dream. The Peace on Earth Project was launched, this time as a partnership between Foltos and the Batavia Parks Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
The foundation launched a community campaign in May 2022 with a goal of $50,000 to fabricate and install permanent, all-weather metal letters with modern lighting. Foltos provided the seed money, having already raised $4,000 through his own sales of donations and merchandise. The campaign was a modern, multipronged effort, securing letter sponsors, selling “Play it Forward’ raffle tickets, accepting donations, and selling merchandise.
The community responded enthusiastically. On Dec. 21, 2022, the Batavia Parks Foundation announced it had reached its $50,000 goal. A generous year-end donation from the Dunham Foundation of $5,000 was instrumental in crossing the finish line.
The 2023 construction phase demonstrated the maturation of the project from a simple grass-roots idea to a professional, community-backed endeavor.
A second generation of expert volunteers stepped up. Dennis Kintop, a familiar name to the Batavia community project, served as the volunteer construction manager. Kluber Architects + Engineers provided a critical in-kind donation of structural and electrical plans for the permanent artwork. Together, the team worked to get the metal letters fabricated, and install permanent electricity and lighting.
The project installation was completed in November 2023. On Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, at 3 p.m., the community gathered at the Batavia South Riverwalk Plaza for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and dedication of Peace Bridge, officially welcoming the new permanent letters as an enduring beacon in the city’s downtown.
The Bridge’s Next Chapter: A Path for All (2025-2026)
The bridge’s symbolic power as a landmark of peace and community unity has cast a new light on its physical limitations. The name “Peace Bridge” implies a welcoming for all, yet its design has long included a significant barrier.
The bridge’s east-bank connection to the lower Fox River Trail is solely by way of stairs. This stair-only access creates a major challenge for trail users. It forces cyclists to dismount and carry their ride up or down about 20 steps and poses major challenges for people with disabilities, making the bridge effectively inaccessible from the popular lower trail for those with mobility challenges.
To remedy this, the city of Batavia has embarked on the bridge’s most significant and expensive evolution to date: the “Peace Bridge Bike Ramp” project.
The project will enhance the current stair-only access with an ADA-compliant ramp. This new structure is designed to provide a smooth and inclusive connection between the lower Fox River Trail and the Peace Bridge for all users.
This major capital improvement project is funded by the city through tax increment financing (TIF). The project’s complexity requires significant interagency coordination, including an easement from the Batavia Park District and approvals from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for alterations to an existing stormwater drain.
This $3.3 million-plus investment demonstrates how fully the bridge’s symbolic identity has been embraced by the city. A barrier to accessibility on a bridge named “Peace” was deemed unacceptable, and its correction has been woven into the city’s official planning and financial priorities.
A Bridge to a Bigger Idea
The Batavia Peace Bridge has completed a remarkable 25-year evolution. Its story — from a volunteer-built Riverwalk component to a community-named icon and now a major, ADA-compliant public asset — has become a powerful inspiration in itself.
The success of the 2023 permanent letter campaign captured the spirit of volunteerism and community engagement that is uniquely Batavia and sparked a broader Batavia Peace Projects initiative. The Peace Bridge was the first of a trifecta of community projects led by the Batavia Parks Foundation.
This trifecta includes:
• The “PEACE ON EARTH” Letters: The permanent installation on the Peace Bridge, dedicated in November 2023.
• The Peace Selfie Station: A stainless steel “selfie station” installed on the nearby Wilson Street Bridge’s overlook, allowing visitors to perfectly frame themselves with the Peace Bridge letters. It opened in May 2024.
• The Batavia Peace Garden: A garden installed along the South Riverwalk Plaza, which opened on Sept. 21, 2024, to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace.
The final step in this history secures its legacy. In December 2024, the Batavia Parks Foundation Peace on Earth Projects Fund was established.
This fund was created to support the future maintenance and preservation of all three peace projects and, just as importantly, to provide seed funding for innovative future Batavia Peace projects.
The Peace Bridge has completed its journey from a piece of infrastructure to a piece of grass-roots art, from an official landmark to a permanent institution, and finally, to an endowment for the future.
It stands today not only as a bridge over the Fox River, but as a permanent, physical testament to Batavia’s community spirit, a story of how one person’s dream was adopted by a town, enshrined in steel, and — with its new ramp — at last made accessible to all.