ADDRESS: 55 N. Washington St., Bloomfield, Indiana 47424
ARTIST: Lilian Swann Saarinen
TITLE: Waiting for the Mail
MEDIUM: Terra-cotta (relief)
STATUS: The Bloomfield post office is still an active, operating facility, and the relief can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the retail section of the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1941
Bloomfield was the perfect visit in terms of lighting, timing, no cars or people and for external images. That red and tan against the deep blue skies made for some amazing photos.
This my friends is my ideal picture of a classic post office building photo. I wish every image I had was this perfect.
Update:
I’m grateful to have been able to re-visit this one during business hours and get better photos of the relief. I’m a happy guy now!
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 10/17/21 about 2:50 PM and 02/23/2022 about 10:55 AM by David W. Gates Jr.
- Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- United States Postal Service
- Lynn’s Stamp News: Artwork Surprise at Rural Post Office.
