ADDRESS: 61 Maple St., Summit, New Jersey 07901
ARTIST: Fiske Boyd
TITLE: Arrival of Fist Train and Stage Coach Attack
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (murals) 2 panels
STATUS: The Summit post office is still an active, operating facility, however, the murals have been reported destroyed at the time of this writing. Stage Coach Attack previously resided on the wall above the postmaster’s door. Arrival of the First Train previously resided in the main lobby above the service windows.
YEAR: 1935
Late in the day 6:30 PM, does not make for good photo opportunities of the front side of the Summit post office. Just in case you wanted to know that.
Summit is another sad story where the murals (two) have been reported missing, lost or destroyed. It would be nice to learn the who, what, and when of this story. More work for me to investigate. Unless, of course you know the scoop on this one. By all means please comment and share below.
The lobby is open, but the retail section is locked with the metal grate you see in the gallery below. I also found the cornerstone to be interesting in this one. The bright white granite against the standard red brick really makes it pop out at you. The overall design is also interesting to note as the format of the lettering is slightly different that what you would have seen on a regular building.
UPDATE
Summit was another stop during my August 2021 road trip. I wanted a better exterior image of the building. When I was here in May, the sun was setting behind the building, and it was difficult to get a good image with full light on the front of the building. Plus we had wonderful blue skies in August which makes for a more colorful image.
David W. Gates Jr.
“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”
Sources
- Personal visit on 5/21/21 about 6:36 PM and 8/13/2021 at 12:03 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) New Jersey Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- NJ.com N.J. post offices showcase Depression-era public art – nj.com
- National Archives Records and Administration
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- Save the Summit, New Jersey Post Office. Save the Summit, NJ Post Office | Facebook
