Celebrating our Nation's Post Offices
ADDRESS: 101 E. Main St., Warren, Illinois 61087
Today’s featured post office is Warren Illinois. I felt a need to break from the Tennessee post offices. This was a recent visit during the summer of 2013.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
ADDRESS: 5 South Washington Street, Naperville, Illinois, 60540
ARTIST: Rainey Bennett
TITLE: George Martin’s Home Overlooking Old Naper Mill
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The former Naperville post office is now Naperville Bank & Trust. However, the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public during business hours. It resides in the lobby behind the teller’s counter.
YEAR: 1941
I have to tell you this was a hard one to write about. Let me explain. It’s the former post office. No, it’s the newer post office. Yes you are correct, it’s both. It really is an odd combination of both. See apparently the Naperville Bank & Trust company purchase and renovated the former post office building.
However, it appears the post office also added onto the old building in a sense keeping the same location. There is actually a door inside the new post office that leads directly into the bank. So you can imagine the difficulty in attempting to categorize or list this one. It’s also my first post that is essentially a combination a of new and former post office. I guess you could call it a bonus day. Two for the price of one at Post Office Freak! Welcome to the Former Naperville post office building, complete with mural and artifacts, and the new addition right in heart of downtown Naperville.
Since the old building is now privately owned I was polite and asked permission before photographing inside the building. It was difficult to get the entire piece. As you can see from the photos below there are two very large lights in front of the mural, making it very difficult to get the entire piece in one shot. I tried my best and realized the close up detail photos turned out the best.
The Naperville historical society has done a lot to preserve the artifacts from this building and the bank has done a nice job in displaying the pieces through-out the lobby. If you are a real fan of these classic post office buildings you will definitely want to add this one to your list to visit.
Thanks for stopping by
David W. Gates Jr.
Happy to have visited this one again. April 2023.
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
ADDRESS: 6625 Cermak Road, Berwyn, Illinois 60402
ARTIST: Richard Haines
TITLE: The Picnic
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Berwyn 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: 1942
Check out the snow! I waited to post this one in June to remind every one of the long cold winters in Chicago-Land. I had to visit this one twice in January of 2013. The first time I visited it was on a Sunday, apparently they lock up the building. So I returned to Berwyn again the following Saturday during normal business hours so I could photograph the very large wonderful mural inside.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
This was my second stop on November 28 to get better images of the Berwyn, Illinois post office. The sun sets behind the building making it difficult to get a good image. Note to self, If you can get there in the morning, that would be a better time to photograph the front of the building with more natural light.
“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz