The Two Rivers

The Two Rivers presents a composite view of buildings and landmarks in Rome, Georgia during the Depression.  The mural centers on the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers, a location recognizable to citizens of Rome because one river is muddy and the other is clear.  Despite taking some liberties in his depiction of the city’s layout, Blume faithfully rendered each building represented in the painting.  The artist visited Rome several times to make sketches of the actual buildings, and then returned to his Connecticut studio to combine the sketches into a composition that highlights the most characteristic features of the town. 

Among the landmarks depicted is the drawbridge that spanned Fifth Avenue (then Bridge Street) until World War II, when it was demolished during a scrap metal drive. The tower of the historic Floyd County Courthouse appears in the center of the composition, next to a building reminiscent of the old Presbyterian Church.  At the apex of the painting is Rome’s iconic Clock Tower, built in 1871 during the Reconstruction era.  Beneath the distant mountains at the painting’s right edge, Blume included the former Celanese Textile Mill, which played an important role in the industrial history of the city.  Originally commissioned in 1943 by the Section of Fine Arts for the old Post Office and U.S. Courthouse in Rome, the painting was moved to the new Federal Building, Post Office and U.S. Courthouse in the 1970s.