SDSU Unveils Long-Lost Depression-Era Mural

Restored WPA-era mural found in Hardy Tower
is relocated to SDSU Library

Contact:
Gina Speciale
Media Relations Specialist
San Diego State University
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu


SAN DIEGO (Wednesday, March 5, 2008) — Three years ago, two WPA-era murals painted by SDSU students in the 1930s were found hidden in the depths of SDSU's Hardy Tower. For decades no one knew these murals existed.

WPA-era mural "NRA Packages" (above) will be unveiled Friday in the SDSU Library.

Once SDSU anthropology department chair Seth Mallios, Ph.D. learned about them he started searching for a way to have these rare and beautiful murals moved to a place current students, faculty and staff could enjoy them. 

The mural now has a home in the SDSU Library thanks to a lengthy restoration process that took more than six months from start to finish. The mural is a depiction of National Recovery Act (NRA) packages being unloaded in Hillcrest.

“We are so pleased to have the opportunity to share this rare treasure with the rest of the SDSU community,” said Connie Vinita Dowell, dean of SDSU Library and Information Access.  “We are especially grateful to our generous donors who are helping us to preserve the history of this campus and of the San Diego region.”

The murals, painted in the 1930s, are believed to be the only two surviving murals of several that were painted throughout Hardy Tower, which was home to the original campus library.

Then art students George Sorensen and Genevieve Bredo painted the murals under the supervision of Everett Gee Jackson, local artist and former director of the art department.  Later, Sorenson became director of the art department as well as president of SDSU Alumni Association. 

The mural unveiling coincides with the SDSU Library and Information Access exhibit "Snapshot of an Era: Uncovering our New Deal Past" which details the genesis of the university campus and the development of San Diego during the New Deal, a foundational time in the history of San Diego and San Diego State University.  The exhibit is on display through May 2008.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 74 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s approximately 36,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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