Roosevelt, whose New Deal programs commissioned each of the murals. One of the post offices, in New York's Hudson Valley, was uniquely designed to the specifications of President Franklin D. Several of the post offices are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Impacted post offices serve locations ranging from small cities in Illinois and Florida to the suburbs of Boston and Baltimore, as well as multiple locations in the Deep South. Before and after (covered): Photographs of the 1940 mural, "Cotton≿rom Field to Mill," at the Jackson, Georgia post office, taken Jan. The coordinated effort is without modern precedent, and the Postal Service has repeatedly declined to explain its actions in response to inquiries from local news reporters and even members of Congress. Recent photographs from four of these locations show tarp-like plastic sheets, resembling heavy-duty garbage bags, covering the entirety of their respective murals to render them unviewable. USPS is considering the murals' outright removal, and it is unclear whether this initiative will expand to include historic artwork at additional locations. Internal emails obtained via the Freedom of Information Act reveal that an "artwork workgroup” of high-level United States Postal Service (USPS) officials, including attorneys and USPS's Federal Preservation Officer, has directed facilities and maintenance personnel to cover up 80-year-old murals housed at 16 post offices spanning 12 states.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |