Orbit In, The Hideaway, Prima's Pad
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
SF: Rincon Annex
The wonderful Rincon Annex, built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration—why the Federal government didn't create a similar program to deal with the recession of 2007 will vex me to my dying day. This was one of the most successful Federal programs ever instituted, and it put all manner of people to work creating useful, beautiful things for the benefit of all Americans.
SF: Rincon Annex interior
A few interior details from the Rincon Annex post office, built by the Works Progress Administration in 1939.
SF: The murals of Rincon Annex
Three of the 27 murals painted for the walls of the Rincon Postal Annex by Anton Refregier in 1946, all of which depict the history of California and San Francisco. Refregier was born in Moscow in 1905 and came to the US for the first time in 1920. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and won the competition to paint these murals in 194, beating 83 other artists and earning $26,000 for his efforts, paid by the Works Progress Administration. Refregier's treatment of his subject matter made the murals controversial in their day—naturally, a conservative politician wanted to have them destroyed—but they remained in place throughout the Rincon Annex's functional life as a post office. They were nearly destroyed again in 1978 along with the building itself, but both were saved thanks to the lobbying of artist Emmie Lou Packard. In 1979, the same year that Refregier died in Moscow, the building and its contents were declared a San Francisco landmark.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
