ADDRESS: 1343 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, Illinois 60613
ARTIST: Harry Sternberg
TITLE: Chicago – Epoch of a Great City
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Lakeview post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the pubic. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the retail counter.
YEAR: 1938
I met a very enthusiastic person as I was talking my picture in front of the Lakeview post office. As I was setting up and trying to angle the tripod he said loudly “That must be the first” When I looked at him puzzled he followed up with “That must be the first time someone has taken a picture of the post office”
Since I was unaware at the time just how awesome this post office is, I just kind of smiled and said “yeah must be” The man followed up and said I picked a good one to photograph as there is a really cool mural inside. I was immediately intrigued and headed inside after photographing the exterior of the building.
The man was right, this is one truly amazing and very large mural. It depicts everything Chicago is known for. There is even a website dedicated to the Lakeview Mural.
UPDATE: September 2015
I’ve attempted to navigate to the website for dedicated to this site but it has been down the last few times so I’ve removed the link.
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 1/3/2012 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
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Chicago Illinois (Daniel J. Doffyn) Post Office
Oak Park Illinois Post Office – Part 3 Mural #2 The Oscelo – First Shipment of Wheat From Chicago -1839
Chicago Illinois (Morgan Park Station) Post Office
