Artist

Normal Illinois Post Office

February 20, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 200 West North Street, Normal, Illinois, 61761
ARTIST: Albert Pels
TITLE: Development of the State Normal School
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Normal 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: 1938

Where do I start with this one? Normal has the record for the number of photographs I’ve taken of various artifacts in a single building. When people ask me what I document or what does it mean to document a post office. I eventually find my self mentioning all types of stuff i.e… old photos, books, postmaster records, old newspaper articles, cancellation stamps all sorts of stuff. The post office in Normal contains a great collection of postal artifacts. It is artifacts like this that you don’t often see until you actually have an on site visit.

Sure you can research the building and mural. You can read about the artist and see pictures online regarding the mural. But I like to take the next step in this and to actually revel to you everything that I find when I visit a post office. It’s stuff like this that doesn’t often get talked about.

I also need to comment on the location of the mural. At some point a drop ceiling was added to the lobby. I’ve been told this is to reduced the space and cost required to heat such a large building. However, this also detracts from the full view of the mural. A visitor needs to be almost under the mural in order to see the entire piece. It is also impossible to get a straight on level photograph of this one because the ceiling is in the way.

Typically what I like to do is stand back in the lobby, raise my camera up as far as I can to get a straight on level picture of the entire mural. This is next to impossible with the layout of the lobby and drop ceiling.

I won’t mention the overgrown trees which block almost the entire front of the building. I’m less concerned with landscaping. I’d much rather have a full view of the mural. I did have to climb into the bushes for the corner-stone on this one. You can thank me in the comments below.

What are your thoughts on the placement of the drop ceiling? Please comment and share.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Normal Illinois Post Office 61761 Artifacts

Sources

Personal visit on 6/27/2015 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
WOLFS

Shelbyville Illinois Post Office

February 13, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

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

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

Marshall Illinois Post Office

February 6, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 115 North 7th Street, Marshall, Illinois, 62441
ARTIST: Miriam McKinnie (Hofmeier)
TITLE: Harvest
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Marshall 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: 1938

Today’s featured post office is from Marshall, Illinois.

I’m always delighted to find additional old photos and artifacts in the lobby of buildings during my site visits. Take Marshall for instance. Someone took the time to hang these old photos in the built-in bulletin boards. Every single old post office with this design that I have visited, has these built-in bulletin board cases.

So it’s wonderful that someone actually too the time to hang them up. It’s those little touches that really makes visiting all these post offices worth it. It’s like stepping into a museum exhibit. So here you go folks, here is the Marshall, Illinois post office exhibit. Complete with a great looking mural.

Not only is this this a great little post office, but it is also a historic art & architecture site. I know little about this designation but there you go. What do you know about it? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.