San Antonio PO mural
Description
A beautiful, 16 panel mural titled “San Antonio’s Importance in History” adorns the walls of the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building (formerly the main U.S. Post Office) in downtown San Antonio Texas. The mural was painted by Howard Cook between the years of 1937 and 1939 using the fresco technique (fresco is the process of painting directly on fresh, wet plaster). Cost of the mural was $12,000. Each panel represents a different period in San Antonio’s rich history from the arrival of the conquistadors and Franciscan missionaries to the great cattle drives and cotton businesses of the early 1900’s. Mr. Cook painted many of the figures for the mural on a wall in his Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico studio in preparation for painting the actual mural on the wet fresco. That study now belongs to the Witte Museum in San Antonio.
The murals were fully restored in 1999.
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San Antonio PO Mural
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San Antonio PO Mural
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San Antonio PO mural
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San Antonio PO mural
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"San Antonio's Importance in Texas History--The Alamo"
Source notes
http://howardnortoncook.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipolito_F._Garcia_Federal_Building_and_United_States_Courthouse http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/551 Information from exhibit in Witte Museum, San Antonio Texas
Project originally submitted by Elizabeth Hilburn - http://doorwayintothethepast.blogspot.com/ on June 11, 2013.
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The San Antonio Post Office and Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 (which includes the murals).