The Great Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 poster

Chicago Heat Wave (1995)
Part of the Global Warming Awareness Poster Series
Design by Gianluca Franzese

The city baked. Over 700 lives lost — not to fire or flood, but to heat, neglect, and silence.
This poster memorializes the Great Chicago Heat Wave of 1995, one of the deadliest climate-related events in U.S. history. Most of the victims were elderly, poor, and living in underserved neighborhoods — bringing the conversation around environmental justice into sharp focus.

The Crain Communications Building, rendered in stark silhouette, represents both the city’s resilience and its vulnerability. Against the backdrop of rising global temperatures, this image reflects not just a past tragedy but a warning still echoing today. Al Gore’s early climate advocacy, often dismissed in the '90s, now reads as urgent and prescient — with this event standing as one of many early signs of a crisis we failed to heed.

It’s a visual record of a real climate disaster — an image designed to hold space for what happened, and what’s still happening.
Each piece is a reminder that these events didn’t come out of nowhere, and they won’t be the last — unless we remember.

Printed on synthetic 4533 press, this poster benefits from enhanced durability and color vibrancy. The advanced printing techniques used ensure that the colors remain vivid and the material withstands various environmental conditions, making it ideal for long-term display and preservation.

Poster Size: 12 inches x 18 inches