ADDRESS: 119 S. Tennessee Ave., La Follette, Tennessee 37766
ARTIST: Dahlov Ipcar
TITLE: On the Shores of the Lake
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The mural no longer reside in the original building shown here. It was moved to the newer post office building on Central Ave. The mural is on display in the lobby and is accessible to members of the public during business hours.
YEAR: 1939
For mural information please see our article of the current La Follette, Tennessee Post Office.
Today’s featured post office is the classic WPA error building from La Follette, Tennessee. What a great looking building and facade. If you found this article because you were hoping to find out more about the mural. I’m sorry to say it is no longer here. However, the good news is that you can still see it at the newer building on Central Ave.
Now back to this building, so it is no longer the post office and after some basic research appears to have been sold. After reading up I also discovered it sold for a relatively inexpensive price. You can read more about this by following the resource links below.
Post Office: Senator J. Will Taylor successfully lobbied funds from the “New Deal” program to construct a post office within LaFollette. It was constructed and built in 1937. This office served the city of LaFollette until the early 1990’s. Within the Historical Society Museum there is a thorough pictorial documentation showing construction through- out 1937 and 1938.
I want to hear from you, what do you remember about this building? Are you a postal working who spent years working here? What do you remember about the mural in the lobby? Did you ever meet the artist or the descendants of the artists? Do you have old newspaper articles of the dedication ceremony? I’d love to hear from you. Please comment below.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 9/06/2014 by David W. Gates Jr.
- Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
- Tennessee Post Office Mural Guidebook
by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- Save The Post Office: (http://www.savethepostoffice.com/going-going-gone-historic-post-offices-gsas-auction-block)
- GSA Auctions (http://gsaauctions.gov/ATTACHMENT/REGNP/PEACH413100001/USPS%20LaFollette%2003.pdf)
- (affiliate link): Tennessee Post Office Murals
: Howard Hull
- Post Mark La Follette (Postmark LaFollette – HOME (weebly.com)
by David W. Gates Jr.
