ADDRESS: 1720 Market Street, Saint Louis, 63155
TITLE: The Territory of Missouri
ARTIST: Mitchell Siporin
TYPE: Mural
STATUS: The mural resides on the wall in the lobby.
YEAR: 1942
Welcome to part 4 of a 10 part series featuring the Saint Louis main post office. For the past few days we have been showcasing the murals inside this mammoth building. Since there are over 9 murals I’ve decided to highlight them each individually. Today’s mural is titled “The Territory of Missouri” and was done by Mitchell Sporin.
This panel begins with the first United Sates Post Office established in St. Louis in 1804. Colonel Rufus Easton, the first postmaster, is portrayed receiving bags of mail from across the river. Arriving on the same flatboats are settlers and their slaves from Virgina and Kentucky to the Missouri territory.
To the right is Captain Amos Stoddard, presiding at the famous ceremony of the purchase of the Missouri territory by the United States. The Spanish flag was lowered, and the flag of France was raised and lowered; and the American flag was then raised to symbolize the passing of the territory from Spain to France to the United States.
Tune in tomorrow for the next mural tilted “George Rogers Clark and Daniel Boone”
Thanks for stopping by, please comment and share below.
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 8/10/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz.
