New Deal buildings or New Deal murals or artwork.

ADDRESS: 150 North Limestone Street, Springfield, Ohio 45501
ARTIST: Herman Henry Wessel (H. H. Wessel)
TITLE: Printing in Springfield and Manufacture of Farm Implements
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (murals)
STATUS: The Springfield post office is still an active, operating facility, and the murals can be viewed by interested members of the public. They resides on the wall in the main lobby.
YEAR: 1933

The story goes like this. It was late November and I was driving around Ohio to get as many post offices as I could. It was getting late and I was hours away from the in-laws house. I waited and I waited some more to get an un-obstructed view of this building. I’ll just tell you now, it never happened. The image  you see above was the closest I got to a full building photo.

The sun was setting and my light was getting to be a challenge. One thing you don’t see or may realize, is just how cold it was during this photo shoot. In addition to the cold it was windy making standing outside waiting an uncomfortable situation. I sat in my car and waited for people and cars to clear from the front of the building. I stood outside with my tripod and camera hoping people might see what I was trying to do. But not one single car moved or attempted to get out-of-the-way. I guess they all had important things to mail. I’m not complaining, it’s great for the post office. But it sure does make my job much more challenging.

One great discovery I found was the historical sign on the outside of the building. To be honest I didn’t even look at it until now in late December, which is more than a month after my initial visit. I did however, use my phone an QR reader and was immediately taken to the website dedicated for this historical building. The page mentions the two murals still exist here but during my visit was not able to see them.

What struck me as odd is that I did go into the lobby and looked for them. The historical page created for this mentioned the restoration efforts uncovered the murals. So that begs the question. Where are they located inside the building? The retail counter area was closed so I’m wondering if the murals are located in the retail section of the lobby? I guess I’ll have to plan another visit to Springfield Ohio. What do you know about the murals here? Are they inside the retail section of the lobby? Are they in a different room of his massive building?

So that’s the story, I grabbed what photos I could and jetted back to in-laws house several hours away. Did some research for this article and included some additional sources below. I hope you’ve enjoyed the Springfield Ohio Post Office.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

During a road trip in October of 2022, I swung by the Springfield, post office. My first visit was after hours and the building was closed. This time around I visited during business hours and was able to get inside the building. In addition I was also able to see the small museum they have set aside off to the right of the retail section. What a treat, especially since it was rainy and close this day.

Sources

• Personal visit on 11/29/2013 and 10/26/2022 at 12:08 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
• United States Postal Service
• Springfield has History (http://springfieldhashistory.com/post-office/)
• Smithsonian American Art Museum (http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=27544)
• Parma Conservation (https://parmaconservation.com)