Historic RC post office mural returned from Smithsonian
by Peter Jakey–Managing Editor
A rich piece of Rogers City history has been returned to the Rogers City post office (RCPO).
The mural, that had been displayed as an original work of art titled “Rogers City Harbor” in its lobby since opening in 1941, was put up again last Friday after a two-and-a-half year absence.
It was removed in April 2022 to prevent it from being damaged from the leaking roof, and with not a moment to spare.
It was rolled up in one piece and stored at the Smithsonian Institute in Chicago. It took about six hours to put back up.
“Everyone in Rogers City is really happy that it is back,” said Kristi Domke, RCPO postmaster. “We have people that travel from all over the United States to see murals.”
The painting is one of three Michigan post office murals by James Calder and is part of a collection of works commissioned by the federal government between the Great Depression and the early years of World War II.
The government began a program to decorate newly constructed federal buildings with “murals and sculptures appropriate to the embellishment of federal buildings.”
THE AIM of the program was to introduce small communities to fine art by placing works of art in the lobbies of local post offices because they are open to and visited by any member of the public.
Between 1933 and 1943 the federal government employed artists, many of whom were destitute, under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a work program for the unemployed created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
While many WPA workers worked on construction projects building dams and digging ditches, the artists employed by the government created murals, sculptures, carvings, photographs and other works of art.
Forty-eight post office murals were created in Michigan. Approximately 1 percent of the total cost of construction of the building was set aside to pay for the artwork. The average payment to an artist was $700.
A LARGE building such as the North Western Branch in Detroit paid $2,800 for its mural while the smaller office in Clare paid $500. When a new building was completed, the government issued a call for artists to submit ideas for a mural and an independent panel of artists would select the winner.
Each work of art was to be recognizable by the average person. Also, it had to be viewable from a distance as the murals were designed to go on the wall above the doors, post boxes and windows. For the RCPO mural, the artist selected the town’s main source of income at the time, the Calcite operation, for his subject.
THE MURAL features a view of the plant and two Great Lakes’ freighters, the Ream and the Taylor. The Taylor had formerly been named the Munson, the name was changed after the painting had been completed and it is possible to see the name change on the painting today.
The mural was completely cleaned and restored in 1988 by well-known art historian and conservator, Tony Rajer. Rajer is based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
A small dark square in the upper right-hand corner of the mural was not cleaned to provide perspective to how different the painting looked before the restoration work.
