Built in 1938, the Alumni Center was originally a Coca-Cola bottling plant. While the exact date is unknown, sometime between World War II and the 1950's, artist John F. Holmer created a mural depicting a day at Coney Island Amusement Park. It is a scintillating example of the Art deco style.
Quick Facts
Artist: John F. Holmer (1894-1962)
Creation date: circa 1940-1950
Location: The interior of the Alumni Center
Additional Notes:
- The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
- Much to the dismay of J. Cromer Mashburn Jr., the CEO of the Coca Cola bottling company, Holmer painted small toothbrush mustaches similar to Hitler's own infamous mustache on all of the men in the mural. Curiously, Holmer refused to remove the mustaches. Another artist was commissioned to rid the scene of any of the mustaches. Despite the artist's efforts, the mustaches are still observable behind the veil of paint that was applied to conceal them.
- Just at the border of the mural, a monkey with a man's face is depicted
- Holmer also created 11 murals, called The Progress of Industry, which adorn the Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus, OH. The murals express the dignity and hardship of physical labor and reflect the American Realism style of art popular throughout the 1930s.
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