Palmer Square Post Office (former) Mural – Princeton NJ

City:
Princeton, NJ

Site Type:
Murals, Art Works

New Deal Agencies:
Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA), Arts Programs

Completed:
1934

Artist:
Karl Free

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

The historic former Palmer Square post office in Princeton, New Jersey houses an example of New Deal artwork: a large mural, entitled “Columbia under the Palm,” painted by Karl Free in 1939. The mural remains in place despite USPS having sold the building to private interests and the building undergoing multiple transformations since that time.

“One of the distinctive features of the post office building is a controversial 1939 mural depicting Native Americans kneeling at the arrival of European colonists, a scene that some have denounced as racist.”   (https://www.nj.com)

Source notes

https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/08/postal_service_to_sell_antique_palmer_square_post_office_in_princeton.html
https://savethepostoffice.com/historic-palmer-square-post-office-princeton-headed-sale
https://www.wpamurals.org/newjersy.htm
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/princeton/sections/loose-ends/articles/repurposing-the-post-office-but-not-removing-the-mural

Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on March 20, 2014.

Location Info


20 Palmer Square E.
Princeton, NJ 08542
Mercer County

Coordinates: 40.350171, -74.66105

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