ADDRESS: 500 Washington, Street, Oregon, Illinois, 61061
ARTIST: David B. Cheskin
TITLE: The Pioneer and Democracy
MEDIUM: Tempera (mural)
STATUS: The Oregon 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
So this week I’ve been showcasing some of the post offices from my 2010 California trip. On Saturday’s I like to showcase the fancier post offices I have visited. I’ll resume showcasing California Post Office next week but today I bring you the Oregon, IL Post Office.
In March of this year I took another road trip in Illinois. One of my stops was Oregon, Illinois. I was immediately delighted when I first spotted it. It has the old classic look to it and I knew that it was an older building. I took several photographs of the exterior and proceeded inside.
Along with the wonderful mural, there is a great newspaper article in the bulletin board display case. After talking to one of the staff I learned this newspaper article was recently discovered in the basement of the building. I had visions of Antique’s Roadshow pop in my head as I was listening to this story. It really makes one stop and think about what other treasures are hidden in the basements of older buildings like our nations post offices. I’m delighted that it has been preserved.
Upon completing the building the dedication was a news-worthy event back in those days. The title of the article reads “Oregon’s New Post Office Building Dedicated November 4th”. The date on the newspaper is November 1939. What a great piece of history and I’m glad I was able to visit and find out this little story.
October 29, 2016 Update
So one thing I do when I visit post offices is carry a little notebook with me. As I was looking through it recently I ran across this note.
Oregon post office has mural, lady at the desk mentioned an older guy from WI knew all about the mural. She mentioned he has a large book of all the murals. She also mentioned the newspaper article they found in the basement of the post office.
So I’m unsure why I never included this piece of information, it may have just been information overload at the time or I may have just been in a hurry. Regardless, I’m updating this article to include this pieces of information. I have no idea if there really is a gentlemen out there with an album of post office murals, but I’d be interested to know.
So this is a call out to any older gentlemen out there who has been visiting post offices and collecting information regarding them. It would be great to touch base. I’d love to hear your stories and see your work. So if you are out there, I hope to hear from you.
UPDATED November 4, 2020
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 3/20/2012, 11/04/2020 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
