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Parma Conservation

Marseilles Illinois Post Office

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Marseilles IL Post Office 61341
Marseilles IL Post Office 61341

ADDRESS: 100 Washington Street, Marseilles, Illinois 61341
ARTIST: Avery Fischer Johnson
TITLE: Industrial Marseilles
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Marseilles 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

Often times when I visit and inquire about the mural or art the folks working at the counter are clueless. My visit to Marseilles, Illinois was an exception. I met a wonderful lady who was very interested in their mural and was able to provide me with a bunch of details about it. Now that’s awesome I said to myself. Here are a few of details I remember from this conservation.

The mural is called “Industrial Marseilles”, It was meant to represent the industries at the time when it was painted around 1938. The lady at the counter also mentioned that all but one of the buildings have disappeared from the Marseilles landscape. The only one that remains today is the large brick building in the center for the painting. Now that is information I wouldn’t have gotten if I had not taken the time to ask . If I also remember correctly the lady was also able to recall the date and artist of the painting. She was aware that it was commissioned during the depression.

It was really a delight to hear someone speak of it and share in the history of the mural. It’s not often that I find USPS employees interested in the art on the wall and this was a real treat to find. Your name escapes me today but rest assured you made my day and my visit enjoyable to Marseilles.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341
Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341
Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341
Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341
Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341
Marseilles Illinois Post Office 61341 Corner Stone
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Center
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Full
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Detail
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Signature
Marseilles Illinois Post Office Mural 61341 Full

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources

La Follette Tennessee Post Office

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La Follette TN Post Office 37766
La Follette TN Post Office 37766

ADDRESS: 1221 E Central Ave., La Follette, Tennessee, 37766
ARTIST: Dahlov Ipcar
TITLE: On the Shores of the Lake
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The mural no longer reside in the original building. It was moved to the newer post office building on Central Ave (Shown here). The mural is on display in the lobby and is accessible to members of the public during business hours.
YEAR: 1939

Welcome to La Follette, Tennessee. I’m trying to remember if we visited this building first or the original building on Tennessee street. Either way when I stepped into the lobby of this newer building I wasn’t expecting to find the mural here. I’m really glad it has been preserved and moved. But it seems out-of-place. I’m trying to decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

When the murals were original installed, they were often times installed up hight above the postmasters office door. However, since this one was moved it was installed at a lower level, closer to the floor. The benefit of this, is the observer has a much closer and eye level view of the mural. Patrons are able to get an close look at all the detail. The drawback is that it looks awkward so close to the floor.

Additional notes, when I run into situations like this. Where the building is newer and it has artwork. It becomes difficult to categorize this article. Here is my dilemma. When I initially setup the categories, the “New Deal” category was meant to classify an older building with corner-stone and have been built during this time period. Since this is a newer building, I can’t classify it as “New Deal”. However, this location does have artwork from the this time period. Thus you can see my dilemma when classifying this type of building and article.

What do you think? Were you involve in moving this mural? What were some of the discussions involved in installations of this artwork? Please comment below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

La Follette Tennessee Post Office 37766
La Follette Tennessee Post Office 37766
La Follette Tennessee Post Office 37766
La Follette Tennessee Post Office 37766
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Artist Signature
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Center
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Detail
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Full
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Left Side
La Follette Tennessee Post Office Mural 37766 Right Side

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources

Herrin Illinois Post Office

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Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948

ADDRESS: 200 South Park Avenue, Herrin, Illinois, 62948
ARTIST: Gustaf Dalstrom
TITLE: George Rogers Clark Conferring with Indians near Herrin
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Herrin 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

I made a special trip to visit Herrin, Illinois. If you are looking for a story where the art was almost lost and then recovered and returned to its rightful place, then this is the one you want. I don’t see any reason to re-write what has already been said about this mural. But what I can say is that its one of the great success stories of art being recovered to its original place. This article by the Southern says it all.

When people ask why I do this, Why I travel thousands of miles to see these. This is one reason why, to bring stories like this to life. I’m really excited to learn that I’m not the only one who cares about these treasures.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Artifact
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Artifact
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Detail
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Full
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Left Side
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Right Side
Herrin Illinois Post Office Mural 62948 Signature
Herrin Illinois Post Office 62948

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources