Illinois Post Offices

Shelbyville Illinois Post Office

February 13, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 200 South Morgan Street, Shelbyville, Illinois, 62565
ARTIST: Lucia May Wiley
TITLE: Shelby County Fair – 1900
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural)
STATUS: The Shelbyville 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: 1941

This was a special trip we made during the summer of 2015. I was delighted to have my wife and son accompany me. We had a nice enjoyable weekend. Our initial plan was to camp out, but the weather turned and we spent the night in a hotel.

So this would be the first article that features a cameo with my son in the lobby. He is kind of hard to spot since his close blend in with the colors of the lobby. But that is indeed him checking out the display cabinet. I wonder when he grows up if he will be interested in post office buildings and art. Only time will tell.

I love the colors of this mural. I also like that it comes down past the bulletin boards. (see images). I’ve seen several like this and often wonder what was going through the artist’s mind when they did this? I wonder if this was part of the requirement.

Kudos to the staff of this building for keeping it so well maintained.

Does anyone know the meaning or thought process by painting around the bulletin boards? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

no images were found

Sources

Personal visit on 9/5/2015 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

Marshall Illinois Post Office

February 6, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 115 North 7th Street, Marshall, Illinois, 62441
ARTIST: Miriam McKinnie (Hofmeier)
TITLE: Harvest
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Marshall 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

Today’s featured post office is from Marshall, Illinois.

I’m always delighted to find additional old photos and artifacts in the lobby of buildings during my site visits. Take Marshall for instance. Someone took the time to hang these old photos in the built-in bulletin boards. Every single old post office with this design that I have visited, has these built-in bulletin board cases.

So it’s wonderful that someone actually too the time to hang them up. It’s those little touches that really makes visiting all these post offices worth it. It’s like stepping into a museum exhibit. So here you go folks, here is the Marshall, Illinois post office exhibit. Complete with a great looking mural.

Not only is this this a great little post office, but it is also a historic art & architecture site. I know little about this designation but there you go. What do you know about it? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.