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Oregon Illinois Post Office

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Oregon IL Post Office 61061
Oregon IL Post Office 61061

ADDRESS: 500 Washington, Street, Oregon, Illinois, 61061
ARTIST: David B. Cheskin
TITLE: The Pioneer and Democracy
MEDIUM: Tempera (mural)
STATUS: The Oregon 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: 1940

So this week I’ve been showcasing some of the post offices from my 2010 California trip. On Saturday’s I like to showcase the fancier post offices I have visited. I’ll resume showcasing California Post Office next week but today I bring you the Oregon, IL Post Office.

In March of this year I took another road trip in Illinois. One of my stops was Oregon, Illinois. I was immediately delighted when I first spotted it. It has the old classic look to it and I knew that it was an older building. I took several photographs of the exterior and proceeded inside.

Along with the wonderful mural, there is a great newspaper article in the bulletin board display case. After talking to one of the staff I learned this newspaper article was recently discovered in the basement of the building.  I had visions of Antique’s Roadshow pop in my head as I was listening to this story. It really makes one stop and think about what other treasures are hidden in the basements of older buildings like our nations post offices. I’m delighted that it has been preserved.

Upon completing the building the dedication was a news-worthy event back in those days. The title of the article reads “Oregon’s New Post Office Building Dedicated November 4th”.  The date on the newspaper is November 1939.  What a great piece of history and I’m glad I was able to visit and find out this little story.

October 29, 2016 Update

So one thing I do when I visit post offices is carry a little notebook with me. As I was looking through it recently I ran across this note.

Oregon post office has mural, lady at the desk mentioned an older guy from WI knew all about the mural. She mentioned he has a large book of all the murals. She also mentioned the newspaper article they found in the basement of the post office.

So I’m unsure why I never included this piece of information, it may have just been information overload at the time or I may have just been in a hurry. Regardless, I’m updating this article to include this pieces of information. I have no idea if there really is a gentlemen out there with an album of post office murals, but I’d be interested to know.

So this is a call out to any older gentlemen out there who has been visiting post offices and collecting information regarding them. It would be great to touch base. I’d love to hear your stories and see your work. So if you are out there, I hope to hear from you.

UPDATED November 4, 2020

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061 Mural
Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural Signature
David Chaskin Signature on Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural
Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural 61061 Left Side
Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural 61061 Center
Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural 61061 Right Side
Oregon Illinois Post Office Mural 61061 Full
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061 Cornerstone
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061 Artifacts
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061 Artifacts
Oregon Illinois Post Office 61061

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

Sources

Dwight Illinois Post Office

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Dwight IL Post Office 60420
Dwight IL Post Office 60420

ADDRESS: 100 East Mazon Street, Dwight, Illinois 60420
ARTIST: Carlos Lopez
TITLE: The Stage at Dawn
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural)
STATUS: The Dwight 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: 1937

Ok, so I knew this post office had a mural before I visited. It was one of the ones listed on my road trip in early February 2012. I had seen pictures of this mural on another website, prior to my visit and I was anxious to see it for myself.

I was not disappointed at what I saw during my visit. I immediately felt the darkness of this mural. The black and browns really give this mural a “Spooky” feeling to the observer. The viewer is also immediately aware of the stagecoach in this mural.

I enjoyed my visit to the Dwight Illinois Post Office. It was nice to see the mural with my own eyes. What do you like or think about this mural? Please leave your comments below.

Thanks for reading

David W. Gates Jr.

Dwight Illinois Post Office 60420
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Full
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Right Side
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Detail
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Full
Dwight Illinois Post Office 60420 Cornerstone
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural Artist Signature
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Center
Dwight Illinois Post Office Mural 60420 Left Side
Dwight Illinois Post Office 60420 Train
Dwight Illinois Post Office 60420 Ship
Dwight Illinois Post Office 60420 Airplane

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

Sources

Gibson City Illinois Post Office

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Gibson CIty IL Post Office 60936
Gibson CIty IL Post Office 60936

ADDRESS: 127 East 9th Street, Gibson City, Illinois, 60936
ARTIST: Frances Foy
TITLE: Hiawatha Returning with Minnehaha
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Gibson City post office is still an active, operating facility and the mural can be view by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1940

My travels today brought me through Gibson City. I will be honest I did not research this post office and had no idea what it looked like. When I finally spotted it, I was excited because it had the appearance of an older building.

I started taking pictures of the exterior, when a postal worker spotted what I was doing. He paused a few times and walked back into the building.

I continued to take pictures and then headed inside. As I was walking through the front door a man stopped me in the entrance and asked what I was doing. He had a worried look on his face, but because I was caught off guard the only thing I could come up with is that I’m just visiting and taking pictures. He asked what for and I just mentioned I’m a fan of older post offices and I’m interested in the mural.

After I regained my thoughts I introduced myself and I think this set him at ease. Once he understood I wasn’t a threat he proceeded to show me the writeup on the wall regarding the mural and artist. I never asked but he appeared to be the postmaster as he headed back into the office with the postmaster sign on the door.

While we were taking he mentioned several other people have been by to photograph the mural. He even mention one lady had written a book about the mural. I proceeded to inquire about the book and he ran and got it for me to look at. This was really exciting to me and I’m so grateful I met him and learned something new.

The name of the book is “Let’s Look for Transportation in Illinois Post Offices” by: Mary Emma Thompson, Ph.D

I look forward to looking for this book later when I have time to reflect more on this visit. Has anyone else read or seen this book in print somewhere?

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936 Artifacts
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office Mural 60936 Full
Gibson CIty IllinoisPost Office 60936 Corner Stone
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office Mural 60936 Signature
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936 Ship
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936 Train
Gibson CIty Illinois Post Office 60936 Airplane

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

Sources