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

Galesburg Illinois Post Office

April 14, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 476 East, Main Street, Galesburg, Illinois, 61401
ARTIST: Aaron Bohrod
TITLE: Breaking the Prairie-Log City-1837
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Galesburg post office is still an active, operating facility and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the main lobby on the wall.
YEAR: 1938

Galesburg, Illinois was one post office I visited during a road trip in January 2012. This was a wonderful stop and an awesome mural. The mural was so large it was difficult to get the entire pieces into one photograph. I took several pictures and highlight them below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Artist Aaron Bohrod

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Cornerstone

Galesburg Illinois Post Office 61401 Mural

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural Right Side

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural 61401 Center

Galesburg Illinois Post Office Mural 61401

Sources

Personal visit on 1/12/2012 & 6/21/2024 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

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office

April 7, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 335 E. Walworth Ave., Delavan, Wisconsin, 53115
ARTIST: Rosemary Roth
TITLE: Vignettes From Delavan History
MEDIUM: (Mural)
STATUS: The Delavaon 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: 1984

When I first arrived in Delavan I was amazed to see large statues of an elephant and giraffe. I also drove by a rather large building and discovered it was Wisconsin’s School for the Deaf. I found the post office and was delighted that it was an older building. I started taking pictures of the exterior of the building and then proceeded inside.

You could imagine my excitement when I noticed it had a mural. After studying it for a little while longer I noticed the signature at the bottom right hand corner. It was dated 1984 so I’m guessing this does not make it a WPA mural. Maybe the mural was restored in 1984. I’m not sure and there is little I was able to find online regarding this one. If anyone else has information or history of this mural I’d love to hear from you.

As I sit and write this post I discovered Delavan has quite an interesting history. The reason for the animal statues is because Delavan was once the home to over 26 circus company’s in the late 1800’s. Wikipedia has a nice article about Delavan Wisconsin. I think another highlight for tourist should be a stop in the post office. It’s a wonderful piece of artwork and highlights the history of Delavan nicely.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Wisconsin State School for the Deaf 1852

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Rosemary Bachay Roth 1984

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Cornerstone

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Facts and Figures about Delavan Wisconsin

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Close up of one section of the Mural

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Park Hotel scene of the Mural

Delavan Wisconsin Post Office 53115 Mabie Circus Scene on Mural

Sources

Personal visit on 3/13/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
United States Postal Service
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Reference Number (00001260).
National Archives Records and Administration Identifier Number (106779608).

Decatur Illinois Post Office

March 31, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 214 North Franklin Street, Decatur, Illinois, 62523
ARTIST: Edward Millman
TITLE: Early Pioneer, Social Consciousness, and Growth of Democracy
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
STATUS: The Decatur post office is still and active, operating facility and the murals can be viewed by interested members of the public. They reside in the lobby in multiple locations.
YEAR: 1938

ARTIST: Edgar Britton
TITLE: Natural Resources of Illinois – Frank Lloyd Wright and Carl Sandburg, Natural Resources of Illinois – John Deere and Colonel Francis Parker,’ and Development of Illinois
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
YEAR: 1938

ARTIST: Mitchell Siporin
TITLE: Fusion of Agriculture and Industry
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)

My road trip in early February took me to the Decatur Illinois area. Since this was a last minute road trip I did not make any plans on where I was going to stay for the night. By the time the evening rolled around I was getting a bit anxious. I really did not feel like paying for an expensive hotel. I also was not able to find a campground in this area.

What I did find was an excellent Bed & Breakfast. I was really excited that I was able to get in touch with the owner, as it turned out I was the only guest for the night. I had this great big old Victorian house all to myself. Wow! what a way to live it up for the night. It was really a treat to have friendly personal service. The next morning I was served an excellent breakfast with eggs, waffle, toast, juice the whole works. If you haven’t figured out yet another one of my favorite things to do is eat.

If you are ever in the Decatur area and in need of a place to stay I highly recommend the Victoriana Bed & Breakfast Inn. The post office is another highlight in Decatur. Here are some more Decatur Illinois Post Office pictures.

UPDATE September 2015

So when I initially visited Decatur, I was unaware and hand not done my homework prior to making my site visit. After several years of working on this project I’ve discovered there are three artists who have done work here. It is my intention to re-visit this post office and take more detail pictures of this one.

I will also be creating three seperate articles one for each artists. I think to include them all here in one article would be too much information. So there you have it. I’m not perfect nor do I claim to be perfect. But after studying this one more in-depth, I’ve come to realize how important it is to be more accurate in my reporting and discovery. For now please enjoy the photos I do have.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.