Archives for April 2012

Sycamore Illinois Post Office

April 15, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 104 E. State St., Sycamore, Illinois 60178

Sycamore is a wonderful post office without a mural. The building has every feature a WPA era building. The standard block style a corner-stone, large windows. Although the walls are not adorned with artwork or murals, the building is quite impressive with this massive pillars that decorate the front of the building.

The engraved block is hidden behind bushes but is clearly dated 1914. A few older photographs adorn the walls of the lobby making this wonderful discovery during my visit.

Update: February 2014

Looking back a this article and reading through it. I realized just how far I’ve come with understanding the various pieces of the buildings. If you notice I just wrote engraved block for what I really meant was the corner-stone. I’ve re-read several of my articles and it reminds of just how ignorant I was when I started this project.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Sycamore Illinois Post Office 60178 Artifacts

Sycamore Illinois Post Office 60178 Corner Stone

Sources

Personal visit on 3/11/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
United States Postal Service

Galesburg Illinois Post Office

April 14, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 476 East, Main Street, Galesburg, Illinois, 61401
ARTIST: Aaron Bohrod
TITLE: Breaking the Prairie-Log City-1837
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Galesburg post office is still an active, operating facility and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the main lobby on the wall.
YEAR: 1938

Galesburg, Illinois was one post office I visited during a road trip in January 2012. This was a wonderful stop and an awesome mural. The mural was so large it was difficult to get the entire pieces into one photograph. I took several pictures and highlight them below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Artist Aaron Bohrod

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Cornerstone

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Mural

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural Right Side

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural 61401 Center

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural 61401

Sources

Personal visit on 1/12/2012 & 6/21/2024 by David W. Gates Jr.
Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook
United States Postal Service
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz

Dixon Illinois Post Office

April 13, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 405 W. 2nd St., Dixon, Illinois 61021

Dixon was an interesting stop on my road trip recently. The current Dixon Post Office is named in honor of President Ronald Reagan. They seem to be pretty proud of this as you walk in the front entrance in large letters are the words “President Ronald W. Reagan Post Office”.

After spending some time waiting for the perfect picture of the building I headed inside. Someone or somebody spent a great deal of time working on the various informational banners hanging inside the lobby. It was nice to see this and makes for an interesting discovery. Since my initial visit to Dixon I have also visited the Tampico Illinois Post Office which I also learned was Ronald Reagan’s birthplace. See how it all fits together? I’ll be highlighting the Tampico Illinois Post Office soon.

I only spent a brief time online looking for more information about when or how it was named, but only found a few clips in regards to the building itself. I did find the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation website to be quite interesting. I’m guessing there is more information out there and I’d love to research this further when I have time. Does anyone have suggestions on were to start to find more information about who did the banners? Researched the material etc?

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.