Venice Pier

The Venice Post Office, a red-tile-roofed 1939 Works Progress Administration building designed by Louis A. Simon[22] on Windward Circle, featured one of two remaining murals painted in 1941 by Modernist artist Edward Biberman. Developer Abbot Kinney is in the center[23] surrounded by beachgoers in old-fashioned bathing suits, men in overalls, and a wooden roller coaster representing the Venice Pier on one side with contrasting industrial oil derricks that were once ubiquitous in the area on the other side.[24] Senior curator of American Art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Ilene Susan Fort, said this is one of the better New Deal murals both artistically and historically. Although it contains brightly colored elements with amusing details, the intrusion of the ominous oil rigs and wells was very relevant at the time.[25] After the post office closed in 2012, movie producer Joel Silver unveiled plans for revamping the building as the new headquarters of his company, Silver Pictures.[26] The sale included a stipulation that he, or any future owner, preserve the New Deal-era murals and allow public access.[27] Restoration of the nearly pristine mural took over a year and cost about $100,000. LACMA highlighted the mural with an exhibit that displayed additional Biberman artworks, rare historical documents and Venice ephemera with the restored mural. Silver has a long-term lease on the mural that is still owned by the US Postal Service.[25] As of June 2016, the building remains under halted construction, with completion subject to resolution of multiple property liens. The mural's whereabouts are unknown,[28] putting the lessee in violation of the lease agreement's public access requirement.[citation needed ]