Post offices with murals, includes new deal and non-new deal art.

Ripley Tennessee Post Office

August 3, 2013 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 117 E. Jackson St., Ripley, Tennessee, 38063
Artist: Marguerite Zorach
TITLE: Autumn
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Ripley 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

Another charming post office in Ripley Tennessee and a great mural. I enjoyed this one a lot and had to take a bunch of detail photos so that you can appreciate the entire piece. There is a lot going on in this mural and I wanted to highlight it all. From the dogs to the snake on the stick, it really is a detailed mural. What catches your eye first when you view this one? What do you like about it? Comment below and share with the rest of us.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Cornerstone

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Mural Artist Signature

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Mural Center

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Mural Detail

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Mural Left Side

Ripley Tennessee Post Office Mural Right Side

Sources

Personal visit on 3/31/2013 by David W. Gates Jr.
Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
Tennessee Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
United States Postal Service
(affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
(affiliate link): Tennessee Post Office Murals: Howard Hull
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Reference Number (88001582).
National Archives Records and Administration Identifier Number (135818930).
Lauderdale County TNGenWeb (Ripley Historic Post Office and Mural – Lauderdale County TNGenWeb)

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office

July 27, 2013 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 118 E. Market St., Bolivar, Tennessee, 38008
ARTIST: Carl Nyquist
TITLE: Picking Cotton
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Bolivar post offices is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be vise by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1941

So let me tell you a story. Would you like to know how dedicated and particular I am when it comes to photographing these old buildings? Well, here let me explain.

We arrived in Nashville early Tuesday morning. I completely forgot to charge my camera batteries the night before I left. It was a beautiful sunny day and I wanted to take advantage of the nice sunny weather. Problem is if I go back to the hotel and charge the batteries I’ll lose several hours of time. Since I only had 3 plus days I really wanted to maximize my time here. So what did I do? I drove the few hours to Bolivar anyway. When I got there I was standing waiting for the right moment, when no one was in front of the building. When no cars were parked all that stuff I’ve been talking about. And what happens, next you ask.

Of course just as the right moment appears I go to turn on my camera to get that un-obstructed shot of the building and what happens? yeah you guessed it, the battery in my camera died. After all that waiting and after standing in the road being stared at my the locals. After all the diligent maneuvering around cars and pedestrian, my battery dies.

But wait, I’m prepared you say to yourself. Yes, I was prepared, my backup was to use my phone camera. Not really my preferred method as I really like higher quality photos but it would have to do for today. So that it, that’s what I ended up doing. I pulled out my the handy phone camera and shot my pictures with that. The story doesn’t end there, I wanted higher resolution photos of this great building and mural that I returned to the Bolivar the following day with charged batteries so that I could get some higher resolution photos with my real/better camera. And that my folks is what you can expect from a Post Office Freak.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Cornerstone

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Center

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Detail

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Full

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Left Side

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Right Side

Bolivar Tennessee Post Office Mural Signature

Sources

Personal visit on 3/31/2013 by David, Post Office Fans
Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
Tennessee Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
United States Postal Service
(affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
(affiliate link): Tennessee Post Office Murals: Howard Hull

Lewisburg Tennessee Post Office

July 21, 2013 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 557 E. Commerce St., Lewisburg, Tennessee, 37091
ARTIST: John H. R. Pickett
TITLE: Coming Round the Mountain
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The mural is on display in the lobby and is accessible to members of the public.
YEAR: 1938

Todays featured post office is from Lewisburg Tennessee. Pictured above is the newer post office building constructed in the late 1980’s. The mural was moved from the old post office to this building. Can anyone confirm the location of the original post office building? Tomorrow featured post office is what I believe to be the old location but I have not been able to confirm this. Would you happen to know? Do you know the address? Have any pictures when it was a post office?

The mural is very large is size, so I decided to get a bunch of close up photos so you can all see and appreciate the detail of this great mural. I had a nice visit and enjoyed seeing this one.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.