Paden Brown, 13, of Beverly, loved the flowers’ significance.
Candice Washington, founder and executive director of Brown Books & Paint Brushes, brought some of her students to see the portraits.
Chicago is the first stop in a five-city tour organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
Related Midwest, which paid $40 million for the affordable housing complex in 2011, has the expertise and deep pockets to transform the development.