Preservationists Vs. Smithsonian Over Historic Los Angeles Murals

The lobby of the Golden State Mutual building in Los Angeles is decorated with a 1949 set of murals, painted by Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff, depicting various African-American workers in early California. With Golden State Mutual out of business, “the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is planning to buy the works for $750,000 and remove them.” Preservationists are objecting.