Celebrating our Nation's Post Offices
Post offices that have historical plaques or historical designation.
Historic Springfield IL Post Office
My nephew and I met my parents in Springfield back in April of 2009. While we were waiting around I decided to explore the city a little. What did we do you ask? Well of course we went to find the local post office. I had no idea at the time there was an old historic building.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
ADDRESS: 335 E. Walworth Ave., Delavan, Wisconsin, 53115
ARTIST: Rosemary Roth
TITLE: Vignettes From Delavan History
MEDIUM: (Mural)
STATUS: The Delavaon 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: 1984
When I first arrived in Delavan I was amazed to see large statues of an elephant and giraffe. I also drove by a rather large building and discovered it was Wisconsin’s School for the Deaf. I found the post office and was delighted that it was an older building. I started taking pictures of the exterior of the building and then proceeded inside.
You could imagine my excitement when I noticed it had a mural. After studying it for a little while longer I noticed the signature at the bottom right hand corner. It was dated 1984 so I’m guessing this does not make it a WPA mural. Maybe the mural was restored in 1984. I’m not sure and there is little I was able to find online regarding this one. If anyone else has information or history of this mural I’d love to hear from you.
As I sit and write this post I discovered Delavan has quite an interesting history. The reason for the animal statues is because Delavan was once the home to over 26 circus company’s in the late 1800’s. Wikipedia has a nice article about Delavan Wisconsin. I think another highlight for tourist should be a stop in the post office. It’s a wonderful piece of artwork and highlights the history of Delavan nicely.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
ADDRESS: 110 Green St., Galena, Illinois 61036
Today our adventure brought us to Historic Galena, IL. I knew the town was historical in nature from what I had read prior to driving out here. I was really delighted when I first set eyes on this post office. It’s a really cool older building. The front of the building had a plaque designating it a “Historic Custom House” by the United States Customs Service.
Even the Smithsonian Institution has a plaque on the building designating it “A Great American Post Office” July 30, 1999. For all of those asking why this blog. Why I visit and take pictures of post offices this one represents every reason. It’s a great building, and its a great historical treasure.
Although, I was disappointed that the lobby is closed on Sunday and I was not able to get any pictures inside the building, I still enjoyed my visit to this post office. This is one for the record books and I know I’ll be back from more.
David W. Gates Jr.
