J Theodore Johnson

ADDRESS: 1805 West Monterey, Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60643
ARTIST: John Theodore Johnson
TITLE:  Father Marquette – 1674
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Chicago Morgan Park 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 bulletin boards.
YEAR: 1937

Another stop during our Sunday drive was the Morgan Park Station. So I have to admit once you start visiting lots of post offices you just notice things. Take for instance this one. It’s an older building you can tell by the construction and decor. But here’s the thing, it has newer USPS logos and colors. It’s just seems out-of-place to me. If you’re going to have an older post office why not leave it alone or put up a period USPS sign? I’m just saying.

Update November 2015

I was finally able to make time visit during business hours. Here is the mural inside the Chicago Illinois Morgan Park post office.

I was a bit disappointed in light hanging down directly in front of the mural. This made it pretty difficult to get a straight on shot of the mural. Every image was taken from off to the side making it a bit difficult for a great photo and view of the nice mural.

I also have to mention how similar this mural appears in contrast to the murals we find in Oak Park. It almost appears they were done by the same artists, but they are completely different people. I just thought I’d mention that.

What are your impressions of the Chicago Illinois Morgan Park post office mural? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

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Sources

• Personal visit on 12/18/2011 and 10/10/2015 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