You always wait in line at the Southwalk Station Post Office – sometimes for a very long time. I love it. I always meet someone new and I like to look at the painting at the far end. Commissioned in 1938 by the Treasury Department’s section of Fine Arts and Sculpture, “Iron Plantation near Southwark – 1800”, was painted in oil
on canvas by Robert E. Larter. At first I thought the piece was done as part of the WPA but found that The Treasury Department was charged with commissioning artwork to make it more accessible to the people and lift their Depression laden spirits. I noticed the painting the first time I walked into the post office – it continues to amaze me that my fellow line-waiters often confess to never having noticed it.
In doing some research I found that there are actually two Larter paintings in the post office. One day I asked my postal clerk if the other one had been taken down. “Oh no!” she said, “It is in the back and it is very beautiful.” She said that no one can go back there except postal workers but, “let me have your camera and I will take some photos for you,” and off she went. She came back with more than 30 shots of various angles apologizing that the whole thing wouldn’t fit in one shot because, “you really need to step back more to appreciate the whole thing and there isn’t enough room back there.”
I took those angled shots and tried to lay them out to get an approximation of the piece. It, like its counterpart, is fitted to the wall around different window and door obstructions. It depicts the shipbuilding industry that was at the core of the Southwark District in the early 1800’s. Now Queen Village, parts of Old City and Bella Vista, Southwark was a highly diverse, bustling, industrial area that was home to immigrant and established families. The painting, ”Shipyards at Southwark – 1800” shows the hard, hard work that was and is shipbuilding, launching and sailing.
My postal clerk said it was a shame that more people couldn’t see and enjoy the second painting but that it had been necessary to build the wall of post office boxes to meet the needs of the neighborhood. It is a shame since the intent was art for all. And it is a shame to see that some postal workers are starting to deface it with mindless graffiti. My hope is that the painting can be moved to a more public place, preserved and enjoyed by many. I also hope that once it is moved, it can be photographed in its entirety and that the photo can be mounted in Southwark Station Post Office for all the line-waiters to enjoy.
In the meantime, take a stroll through history in an unexpected place, the Southwark Station Post Office, and enjoy Larter’s interpretation of the iron industry in south Philly because, to be truly sustainable, you should understand the history, the roots of a place and build upon that history. If you want to learn more about The Treasury Department’s efforts check the following links:
https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/southwark-station-post-office-murals-philadelphia-pa/
http://statemuseumpa.org/common-canvas/
http://www.wpamurals.com/pennsylv.htm
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