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New life for Depression-era murals

A two-man crew spends five days cleaning 75 years of dust and dirt from post office works.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch The 1930s murals in the downtown Hamilton post office were recently restored to their original state.

Painting conservator Peter Schoenmann restores one of the 1930s murals in the downtown Hamilton post office. Contributed photo by John Salhus

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By Hannah Poturalski, Staff Writer 1:55 AM Tuesday, March 8, 2011

HAMILTON — A piece of Hamilton’s history was brought back to life after five days of restoration, cleaning and varnishing.

Seventy-five years after being painted, the murals in the lobby of the Hamilton Post Office on Court Street were cleaned of decades worth of dust and dirt.

“After 75 years of dirt, you wouldn’t believe what it looks like. It was an all-around veil,” said Peter Schoenmann, senior painting conservator at Parma Conservation in Chicago. “They hadn’t been cleaned since they were painted in 1936.”

For eight hours a day from March 1-5, Schoenmann and another worker cleaned and properly varnished the Works Progress Administration murals — a program created in 1935 to employ artists during the Great Depression. Parma Conservation has been contracting with the U.S. Postal Service 12 years, Schoenmann said.

“We’ve restored more post office murals than any other conservation center,” Schoenmann said. “We’ve done around 200 post office murals; we’re quite experienced with them.”

James Hunt, a post office employee, said after years of complaints, the restoration came about once funding was available. Officials were not aware of the project’s cost.

The murals include images of Champion Paper Mill, construction of Fort Hamilton Hospital, Diebold and Mosler Safe.

Schoenmann said treatment includes using mild cleaning agents and applying a conservation varnish which reduces fading from ultraviolet rays. He said a portable laboratory helps with determining specific pH-levels and removing microscopic dust particles.

“No two murals are the same, each one has unique makeup and chemistry,” Schoenmann said. “It was satisfying to work on Hamilton’s. You need patience, and you have to respect art so that future generations can enjoy it.”

John Vaughn, president of Historic Hamilton, said after years of trying to find a way to restore the murals, he’s glad to see it finally happen.

“It can be another attraction to go into the lobby and see history of the region depicted in murals,” Vaughn said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2179  or hpoturalski@coxohio.com.

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