County Officials, Silver Spring Community Announce Restoration Campaign For Historic Civil War Mural; Also Mark Black History Month

BA/mural.pr 97-26 Contact: Barbara Harr, 301-217-3926

COUNTY OFFICIALS, SILVER SPRING COMMUNITY
ANNOUNCE RESTORATION CAMPAIGN
FOR HISTORIC CIVIL WAR MURAL;
ALSO MARK BLACK HISTORY MONTH For Immediate Release: February 2, 1997

An historic Civil War mural will be restored, thanks to the efforts of a group of
concerned Silver Spring citizens and the County government.
At a Jazz Brunch hosted today by City Place Mall, County officials and Friends of the
Library, Silver Spring Chapter, representatives announced a fundraising project which will
support the restoration of the 6'x16' mural, formerly housed in the old Silver Spring post
office on Georgia Avenue.
The mural portrays Union soldiers reading their mail in front of a tavern located at
the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road. It is considered significant because
it includes an African American soldier among those depicted.
Russian artist Nicolai Cikovsky, who created the work in 1937, said the African
American soldier symbolized "the result of the Civil War -- namely the liberation of his
race."
The restoration, which will take about three months to complete, will cost an
estimated $25,000.
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan announced that the County will provide a
dollar-for-dollar match for the money raised in the private sector, including corporate
donations.
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COUNTY OFFICIALS, SILVER SPRING .MURAL RESTORATION 2-2-2-2-2
The restoration/fundraising campaign has been organized and coordinated by the
Friends of the Library, Silver Spring Chapter, and the County's Department of Public
Libraries.
"I'm delighted that so many segments of the Silver Spring community have come
together for the restoration of this mural," said Nancy Pond, president of the Silver Spring
chapter, Friends of the Library. "We look forward to forging future partnerships in the spirit
of renewing Silver Spring, not only to ensure the support for this project, but also to further
enhance the Silver Spring Library for its residents."
The mural was one of three commissioned for Montgomery County under a U.S.
Treasury Department program which existed between 1934 and 1943. The project was based
on the premise that Americans could learn more about their culture and history through
public art and that local post offices were the ideal showcases for such works. In addition to
the Silver Spring art, murals were also commissioned for the Rockville and Bethesda post
offices. Fourteen post offices throughout Maryland also received mural commissions and
three received commissions for sculptures.
In 1981, when the Silver Spring post office relocated to Second Avenue, the mural,
which is owned by the U.S. Postal Service, remained at the Georgia Avenue facility, due to a
lack of space at the new site. When the old building was sold in 1991, the work was placed
in storage.
For more information about the campaign or how to contribute, call Barbara Harr,
Development officer for the Department of Libraries, at 301-217-3926.
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