1962 – Joseph F. Lizzadro, Sr. opens his Museum of Lapidary Art in Wilder Park

In the early 1900s, young Joseph Lizzadro (1898-1972) and his father immigrated to the United States from Italy. He worked for his father as a cobbler in Chicago and then in 1916 started his lifelong career in the electrical industry moving up from a laborer to Chairman of the Board at Meade Electric Company. After meeting his wife Mary and having six children, Lizzadro moved his family to settle down in Elmhurst in 1939. He gained an interest in collecting stones at the family’s vacation spot in Upper Michigan and even taught himself to cut and polish them to make jewelry for friends. He moved on to collecting artful stone carvings and as his collection grew, he dreamt of creating a museum of lapidary art. He did just that in 1962 after an agreement with the City of Elmhurst and the Elmhurst Park District allowed him to open the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Wilder Park.