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Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook Map
Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook Map

Oak Park Illinois Post Office – Part 2 Mural #1 The Foundation of Fort Crevecoeur

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Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301

ADDRESS: 901 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60301
ARTIST: John Theodore Johnson
TITLE: The Foundation of Fort Crevecoeur
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Oak Park post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. The mural resides in the lobby and is visible to the public.
YEAR: 1939

Welcome to part two in our five-part series featuring the Oak Park, Illinois Post Office. In part one of this series we introduced the building and artifacts housed here. Today we continue the tour and show you one of the four murals located in the lobby.

What do you think? Have you ever noticed the murals in this building? Did you every hear any interesting facts about them? I’d like to hear your comments below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

no images were found

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

Sources

Oak Park Illinois Post Office – Part 1 The Building & Artifacts

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Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301

ADDRESS: 901 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60301

I took over 100 photographs here. As you can see by the size of this its a Grand Old Daddy of a building. Lots to see here, I know what you are saying to yourself. “It’s just a Post Office”. But hold on, its much more than that. Let me show you in pictures.

Today is part one of our five-part series featuring the Oak Park, Illinois Post Office. Today we showcase the building and the artifacts. Over the next four day’s I’ll showcase each one of the four murals located in the lobby of this great old post office.

Before I begin, I’d like to thank Deb, one of my followers who suggested I visit this one. I had no idea how wonderful this building was until  she brought it to my attention. Thanks Deb, I hear by dedicate this series to you. Thanks again for following along.

Let’s start the tour with images of the actual building itself which is quite impressive.

Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park IL Post Office 60301
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301

If the actual building has not caught your attention let’s take a look at the wonderful artifacts found in the lobby.

Ok, so you must be saying to yourself… Ok so it’s an impressive building and has nice artifacts. But I’ve seen great buildings. Well folks in addition to the neat architecture. It also has artwork. Not one, not two, not three, but four murals in total. That’s right folks in addition to the great building and artifacts, we also have four murals here in Oak Park, Illinois.

There is so much here that I felt I’d break this up into a five-part series. Stay tuned for Part 2 the first mural tomorrow. What do you think of this great building?  What interesting facts do you know about it. Would you like to share with us? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts
Oak Park Illinois Post Office 60301 Artifacts

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

Sources

Otis Grant Collins Chicago Illinois Post Office

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Otis Grant Collins Chicago IL Post Office 60623
Otis Grant Collins Chicago IL Post Office 60623

ADDRESS: 2302 S. Pulaski, Chicago, Illinois 60623

Welcome to another post office named in honor of someone. Who is Otis Grant Collins? I’m using a life line here. Can anyone tell me who Otis Grant Collins is? What he or she is famous for and or what they did.

As for the building itself, A nice old solid brick building. Unfortunately this one has seen some really hard Chicago winters. Sandstone corners are not match for the abundant amount of salt and debris used on the streets and sidewalks. You will notice several corner stones in this condition in Chicago. Sad but I did my best to get close-ups of what is left.

On another note, it was almost impossible to get a clear un-obstructed photo of this building. At least the day I visited which was a Saturday. Everyone was about and about doing their chores. In larger cities it’s almost a given in order to get good photos to visit both on a Saturday and a Sunday. The Saturday is for getting close-ups and anything that inside the building such as a mural. Leave Sunday for the exterior photos of the building. These are just a few of the things I’ve learned working on this project.

I need to use a life line? Can you help me? Do you know? Would you share it with me if you did know? Please leave your comments below.

David W. Gates Jr.

Sources

  • Personal visit on 11/2/2013  by David W. Gates Jr.
  • United States Postal Services