ADDRESS: 920 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515
ARTIST: Elizabeth Tracy
TITLE: Chicago, Railroad Center of the Nation
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Downers Grove 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
Hey, have I got a treat for you today. Of course it’s Saturday and I like to highlight really special post offices on Saturday’s. I knew the Downers Grove Illinois Post Office had a mural, but I wasn’t expecting the old historic photos in the lobby or the well maintained building. But I found all of this during my visit in January of this year.
It was a bitterly cold day and there was still snow on the ground but this didn’t stop me from standing out side and waiting for a few moments so I could get photos of the exterior of the building. Luckily I’m a patient person. What can you tell me about this wonderful post office? Have you worked here. Where did the old photos come from? Any idea who took them?
Thanks for stopping by
David W. Gates Jr.
Made another trip to the Downers Grove building to get better photographs of the exterior of the building. When I initially visited in winter, there was snow on the ground and the images were not that great.
As I setup to write the Illinois Guidebook, I’m wanting better images to include in the book, thus the reason for making another trip. Enjoy!
“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”
Sources
- Personal visit on 1/30/2013 & 11/16/2020, & 04/11/2023 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
- Downers Grove Historical Society
