ADDRESS: 101 East Washington, Street, Rushville, Illinois, 62681
ARTIST: Rainey Bennett
TITLE: Hart Fellows
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Rushville 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
The unique feature of this mural is that it depicts the first post office in a general store in Rushville. This speaks to a time when a general store provided a place people could catch up with their neighbors. You could head over to the general store pickup some sugar or flour and then send out a postcard to loved one’s.
The mural also represents a time when life was slower and less distracted. People had time to chat with their neighbor or talk to a store clerk and learn about their family. I imagine the ladies in town chatting about the local gossip in Rushville.
Anyway, this is my best description and thoughts about the Rushville mural. What are your thoughts regarding this one? Please comment and share below.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 4/3/2015 by David W. Gates Jr.
- https://bookshop.org/shop/postofficefansIllinois 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
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Smithsonian
