AA-2026-0A2F16
On the image
A metal drum fitted with a hinged tin lid overflows with crumpled paper in a public park, its rusted surface already stained after a season or two of service. Behind it stands a gilded statue, the kind a town paid for without irony, watching over a manicured lawn and tree line that suggested permanence and civic order. The statue's job was to inspire; the drum's job was to catch what people threw away after they stopped caring about the statue's message. Someone thought the drum should be there, and someone else thought it was fine to fill it and move on, which meant no one was actually responsible for emptying it—or at least not on the day this photograph was taken. Park maintenance in the 1950s was a matter of installing objects and hoping volunteers would finish the work the budget could not afford.
Visually related — by likeness
Park Trash Receptacle, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-0A2F16. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/park-trash-receptacle-1950s.
@misc{aaAA20260A2F16,
title = {Park Trash Receptacle, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-0A2F16},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/park-trash-receptacle-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Park Trash Receptacle, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-0A2F16 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/park-trash-receptacle-1950s ER -
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