Archives for February 2016

ADDRESS: 200 South Morgan Street, Shelbyville, Illinois, 62565
ARTIST: Lucia May Wiley
TITLE: Shelby County Fair – 1900
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural)
STATUS: The Shelbyville post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1941

This was a special trip we made during the summer of 2015. I was delighted to have my wife and son accompany me. We had a nice enjoyable weekend. Our initial plan was to camp out, but the weather turned and we spent the night in a hotel.

So this would be the first article that features a cameo with my son in the lobby. He is kind of hard to spot since his close blend in with the colors of the lobby. But that is indeed him checking out the display cabinet. I wonder when he grows up if he will be interested in post office buildings and art. Only time will tell.

I love the colors of this mural. I also like that it comes down past the bulletin boards. (see images). I’ve seen several like this and often wonder what was going through the artist’s mind when they did this? I wonder if this was part of the requirement.

Kudos to the staff of this building for keeping it so well maintained.

Does anyone know the meaning or thought process by painting around the bulletin boards? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

no images were found

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources

• Personal visit on 9/5/2015 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
• Parma Conservation