New mural celebrates Croatian heritage

New mural celebrates Croatian heritage
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | August 2025

The journey of thousands of immigrants from Croatia and other Slavic countries to Ellis Island in New York City – and ultimately to the bend of the Mississippi River that is home to South St. Paul – is being memorialized with a new massive mural on the side of the Croatian Hall, located at 445 2nd Ave. S. Created by local artist Jaclee Slaba and expected to be finished in the coming weeks, it stretches 24 feet high by 80 feet long, covering the entirety of the building’s wall facing the parking lot. In addition to the history of Croatian immigrants and the lives they built around the meatpacking industry in South St. Paul, the mural recognizes the Croatian Hall’s role as one of the city’s most popular event spaces.

“Getting to paint a mural on the side of the Cro is kind of the equivalent of getting to paint the Sistine Chapel of South St. Paul,” said Slaba. “That’s really what it is because everybody knows the Cro. It’s been around forever and everybody loves it. This is kind of like the top of the line as far as I’m concerned.”

The 1919 building proved to have a far-from-optimal canvas due to its rough texture, divots and “paint thirsty” stucco. Overall, the project has so far taken the better part of two months to complete due to its sheer scale and weather delays. Slaba made the design using images provided by Croatian Hall staff and recruited fellow local artist Raymond Aaron, Jr. to assist with some portions.

“You just take it [delays] in stride and work with it and do your best,” said Slaba. “That’s kind of the name of the game when it comes to outside mural work. In the end, I don’t care if it takes me longer than expected. I wanted to make sure that they have a quality mural that they’re happy with.”

Slaba has been commissioned to paint several other murals around town. You can see her work at Black Sheep Coffee, Maple Tree Day School and the “South St. Paul Strong Wall” on the Farmers Insurance building. The new mural is among the largest she’s done. Due to the size, she couldn’t use a projected image as a guide, which is her normal method. Instead, she rolled up her sleeves, marked off 2-foot-square grids on the wall and hand drew the outline before starting the fun part – filling it with color to bring it to life.

The mural has three sections, with faux brick woven throughout. One panel has a map of Croatia and culturally related items, another depicts images of South St. Paul’s stockyards and railroad history, and the final shows what the Croatian Hall is today: everything from music to raffle tickets to beer.

The mural was funded by a $195,000 legacy cultural heritage grant the Croatian Hall received from the State of Minnesota in spring 2024. The grant also covered costs for a fresh coat of paint inside the building, a new HVAC system and windows, and upgrades to kitchen equipment and the fire safety system. Still left to do in the next year are security system and sound system upgrades, adding new patio furniture and making plumbing improvements. The grant will also fund a large Old Fashioned Croatian Picnic in October, and kickstart Croatian food and language classes this fall or winter.

Originally dubbed The Hrvatski Dom (Croatian Home), the Croatian Hall has a 150-seat event space with a stage, sound system and video projector, and bar. It also has a private yard with a large patio and continues to operate a private lodge for its 320 members. Inside you’ll find many cultural items from Croatia. Croatian Hall president Tony Biljan said there are many similar lodges across the country, but theirs is the last remaining lodge in Minnesota that still operates an event hall.

Throughout the years, the Hall has welcomed a handful of political dignitaries including the president of Croatia in the mid-1990s. Annually, it holds Sarma dinners (an Eastern European cuisine), taco feeds and meat raffles supporting city and school programs in South St. Paul. It also supports a tamburitza orchestra, which plays Croatian music, and operates onsite charitable gambling that has netted over a half-million dollars in the past decade. Those funds have been used in the community for such things as school sporting equipment, gifts for children during holidays, and TVs and a piano for a senior center. Biljan and Tom Buchan, hall manager for 13 years, are always working to recruit new members and keep events booked to help ensure the Cro’s legacy lives on for generations to come. For more information, call 651-451-1453 or visit croatianhall.org.

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