ADDRESS: 129 South Madison Street, Pittsfield, Illinois, 62363
ARTIST: William Samuel Schwartz
TITLE: River Boat and Bridge
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Pittsfield 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: 1938
The first thing that sticks when viewing this mural are deep colors.
The building itself is also unique. Most of the New Deal Building have flat roofs and have a box-like appearance. The Pittsfield building has a roof you can clearly see along with one of those decorative gazebos things on the top. Does someone out there know what the technical name of this is called?
When I was younger I poured over Architectural Digest magazines. I enjoyed seeing all the different style houses. I think my post office obsession is a way of feeding this piece of my life. I enjoy all the different style buildings. This also explains why I also notice such things as the roof and various decorative bricks used in the construction of the buildings.
Where one person just views it as another building or post office. I notice the details and effort that was put into buildings during this era.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 5/03/2015 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
Hi! I love reading through your post office discoveries. VERY cool mural on this one…the bridge is so photo-realistic…
To answer your question in this post, the octagonal thing in the center of the roof that looks like a little gazebo is called a “cupola.” The fence-like thing that runs along the ridge of the roof is called “cresting,” though it’s unusual to see it on this style and age of building.
Hi LaLuce,
A big huge thanks for the informative comment. You taught me something and I’m grateful for it. I had actually heard of the word “Cupola” but never looked it up or put much thought into it. Even more importantly I actually have NOT heard of the term “cresting” which you taught me as the fence like feature. Very cool. I’m glad you are enjoying the site.
Do you have a favorite building you like?
Have a great day
David