Lobby Mural

Inside the beautiful lobby of 2601, you will notice our ceramic mural, "The History of Shelter", crafted by ceramicist Frances Serber and painter Nicholas Marsicano in 1940.  Serber, born in former Russia/modern Ukraine in 1895, considered it her best work. The mural is 144 feet long and 4.5 feet tall. 

 

Of the mural, Serber wrote that she "wanted a feeling of stained glass... The tiles were not cut in random. We wanted some sort of design. After working twenty hours a day for six months the mural was finished on the promised date. The mural was born!” Serber and Marsicano designed and fired the tiles in her studio. “It was the first of its kind and it began to lift ceramics from Craft into Art form. It was the first time a woman undertook such a commission, and it was the first mural of its kind."  (source)

 

Art historian Christine Cogdell lived at 2601 Parkway for a time.  Fellow resident Jim LoGiudice interviewed her about her impressions of the building - read the interview here.

 

Below are pictures of the mural sections.