Rincon Annex Postal Murals, San Francisco

 There are twenty-seven large murals in the former Rincon Annex.  They are stunning!  They depict scenes from the history of San Francisco from the indigenous peoples to the arrival of the conquistadores to life when the murals were painted in 1948.

The artist was Anton Refreiger and then were commissioned as part of a WPA project.  The figures are larger than life-size and set about six feet off the ground.  

The most interesting scene depicted, for me, was the murder of James King in 1856.  King was a newspaper editor crusading to eliminate political corruption.  He was shot by James P. Casey, a local politician.  Casey was arrested and then taken from his jail cell by a group of local vigilantes.  He was hung at the same time as the funeral of his victim was taking place.

This is a must see!  The post office is no longer in business, but the ornate letter slots are still visible. The building takes up an entire block.  The main entrance is on Mission at Spears.  It is a few blocks from the Ferry building.