ADDRESS: 317 First Street Wausau, Wisconsin 54403
ARTIST: Gerrit Sinclair
TITLE: Lumbering, Rural Mail
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: Unfortunately, the post office building was sold and converted to apartments. Lumbering still resides in the main lobby. Since the building is locked and only accessible to residents, it is no longer accessible to members of the public. The Status or whereabouts of the second mural Rural Mail re- main a mystery to this day. If you have any information in regards to this one, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us. If heading to Wausau, you could contact the management office to request access to the mural.
YEAR: 1940
So I made a special trip to Wausau in August of 2013. I had only checked a few resources before heading to Wausau, but I figured the mural has to be in Wausau somewhere. I drove 6 hours and arrived there on a Friday afternoon. I found out the post office had been sold and was now an apartment complex. Since the new apartment building had a large phone number and showed availability I called to find out if I’d be able to get inside. Well Friday yielded nothing. The good thing is that I was able to see that the mural was still hanging in the lobby. Visitors are able to enter the front vestibule and peak inside. However, the mural is all the way on the left side of the building, visitors are only able to see a corner of the mural from this viewpoint.
I continued to do some research at the library across the street. Eventually all this excitement got us hungry and we ended up eating at the local pizza place. Too bad I don’t remember the name of the place because it was good pizza. One bottle of Point beer and I was ready to call it a night. Hopefully I’ll have better luck on Saturday. In fact I was counting on spending the full day on Saturday to get inside and see this things. Good thing I’m patience.
I woke up early Saturday and drove over to the building again. I was in fact playing stake out with the residents of the building. I was hoping to run into some, ANYONE, that would let me in to see the mural. In fact I was even told by some locals that when the building was sold part of the agreement was that it was supposed to be made publicly accessible. I wasn’t able to confirm this with any local official or the management company, but that’s what I heard from the locals.
Eventually, I ran into a resident who was kind enough to let me see the mural in person. I was so ecstatic and so appreciative I could barely contain myself. I explained I drove all this way and really really really wanted to see it in person. I also felt a bit guilty and didn’t want to take up too much of his time. I took my photographs as quickly as I could so as not to inconvenience the man. To this day your name escapes me but please note that I can’t thank you enough for allowing me in the lobby. You made my weekend and my day. If you ever run across my blog and this entry I hope you write a comment and say hello.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
UPDATED December 2017
After visiting the National Archives this year I’ve discovered there were actually TWO murals that were originally installed in the Federal Building in Wausau.
However, after further investigation with the local historical society and the management company, they have both confirmed there is only one remaining mural in the building.
The fate or whereabouts of the second mural is unknown at this time.
After visiting the Archives I was able to pull evidence of the second mural titled “Rural Mail” along with the newspaper clipping you see above. If anyone has any further information regarding this mural I’d love to hear from you.
Sources
- Personal visit on 8/09/2013, 8/10/2013 and 7/9/2016 by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Reference Number (12000294).
- National Archives Records and Administration Identifier Number (106781522).
by David W. Gates Jr.