ADDRESS: 1232 Main Ave., Clifton, New Jersey 07011
ARTIST: John Sitton
TITLE: Transportation
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural) 6 panels
STATUS: The Clifton post office shown here is no longer an active postal facility. However, the original murals are reported to have been destroyed. (pained over) They have been replaced with modern murals as shown below. They previously resided on the walls of the rotunda which was the former lobby of the post office.
YEAR: 1935
May 18th – 23rd, of 2021 I visited New Jersey. The purpose of my trip was to personally visit the Fort Lee post office before it is lost forever.
Clifton was another stop during my visit to New Jersey. It’s always a challenge to get the lighting and timing right. I made it to Clifton very early in the morning as the sun was rising.
I knew going into Clifton that I may not be able to get inside the building. I never planned to try, I figured as long as I had the exterior building images, I could come back for the mural images later. Besides, I wasn’t entirely sure the murals still existed in the building to begin with.
Take a look at the brick work on the exterior of the rotunda! very cool indeed.
Upon further research once I returned home, I called and even the locals were unsure if the murals still existed. And this was after speaking to the current director of the recreation center. My guess is they are just covered up. But the building is closed due to COVID, so this is one stop I’ll have to revisit unless the locals can confirm the murals are still there.
UPDATE
The image gallery below shows the original murals in black and white as they originally appeared. In August of 2021, I was able to visit and photograph the interior of this building.
The original murals as no longer in place. What is not clear is if the murals have been painted over or just covered by the new panels. The recreation center was kind enough to allow me access to the building. I did not want to push my luck and ask for a ladder to inspect the also.
We are still in a pandemic so I wanted to get in and get out, with little contact or exposure with the rest of the center. I’m thankful to at least confirm the murals are not easily displayed on the wall. I think when the pandemic is over or if there are art specialist in the area it may be worth physically checking if the new or replaced art were done on canvas and can just be removed. IDK, but there you have it folks.
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 5/20/21 about 6:35 AM and 8/11/2021 about 11:28 AM by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) New Jersey Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- Clifton Recreation Department (Clifton Recreation Department: Facility Details)
- Passaic County Historical Society (Passaic County Historical Society (lambertcastle.org))
- National Archives Records and Administration National Archives
- NJ.com N.J. post offices showcase Depression-era public art – nj.com
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
