ADDRESS: 64 Midland Ave., Kearny, New Jersey 07032
ARTIST: Albert Kotin
TITLE: The City and The Marsh
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (murals) 2 panels
STATUS: The Kearny post office is still an active, operating facility, and the murals can be viewed by interested members of the public. Formally known as Arlington, the post office took on the Kearny name in the 1950s. One mural resides in the main lobby, and the other one resides in the retail section of the lobby.
YEAR: 1935
My first attempt to see this one failed as I arrived after hours and the lobby was closed. I came back the next day to photograph the murals.
I love the look of this building, and was quite impressed with the interior and lobby. One disappointment was the lights obstructing the murals in both locations.
In addition, the postal service placed a large TV monitor in front of the mural in the retail section of the lobby. Thus restricting the entire view of the work. A disappointment indeed but I did what I could to get the images you see below.
The entire arrangement in the retail section of the lobby made it difficult to get up close, and take the detail photographs that I like. On the left side there were was the writing desk and retail displays. The customers were also standing in line on the right side, making it difficult to get up close to the mural. Since this was a busy station, I decided not to stick around. I took the pictures I could and was on my way.
David W. Gates Jr.
“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”
Sources
- Personal visit on 5/20/2021 about 6:10 PM & 5/21/21 about 3:45 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) New Jersey Post Office Mural Guidebook 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