ADDRESS: 1720 Market Street, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63155
TITLE: The Postwar Period
ARTIST: Mitchell Siporin
TYPE: Mural
STATUS: The mural is on the wall of the lobby and viewable to the public during business hours.
YEAR: 1942
Because there are more than 9 separate murals at the main post office I’ve decided to highlight each mural separately. To be honest I started to combine all 9 murals into one very long post. It became very clear this was too much material for one article.
So sit back grab a cup of coffee or tea and relax as I highlight the amazing murals of the Saint Louis Main Post Office.
Today’s featured mural is titled “The Postwar Period. It’s 29 feet by 9 feet and was painted between 1941 and 1942.
The first group at the left of this panel portrays the famous “Order Number Eleven. “This proclamation ordered all those living in Jackson, Cass, and Bates counties to leave their homes in fifteen days. In the background is the wreckage of a locomotive, a symbol of the destruction of the war.
In the center, the reconstruction is symbolized by two figures of railroad workers. the last group at the right side are portraits of eminent Missourians of the 1880’s and 90’s. Those portrayed are Mark Twain; George Caleb Bingham, the Painter; Carl Schurz, the Statesman; James S. Rollins, the “Father” of the University of Missouri; and Joseph Pulitzer, the Publisher.
Tune in tomorrow for the next mural in our series “Commerce and Trade”
Thanks for stopping by, please comment and share below.
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 8/10/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz.
