History of San Francisco (Refregier)

You are approaching the Rincon Center, which stands on the former site of the Rincon Annex Post Office. Inside its lobby, you will find a massive collection of twenty-seven murals painted by the Russian-born artist Anton Refregier between 1941 and 1948. While many public art projects of the era focused on romanticized visions of progress, Refregier chose to paint a raw, unflinching look at the city’s past. His work highlights the labor strikes, racial violence, and economic struggles that shaped San Francisco, rather than just its celebrated triumphs. This decision turned the post office into a site of intense political conflict shortly after the murals were completed. During the height of the post-war anti-communist fervor, some members of Congress led a campaign to have the artwork destroyed. They argued that Refregier had used taxpayer money to create anti-American propaganda, specifically objecting to his depictions of the 1877 anti-Chinese riots and the 1934 waterfront strike. The murals survived these federal hearings, and they remain in their original location as a testament to one of the most contentious episodes in American public art history.