Indiana Post Offices

ADDRESS: 115 W., Keyser St., Garrett, Indiana 46738
ARTIST: Joeseph Hervey Cox (Joe Cox, Joseph H. Cox)
TITLE: Clearing the Right of Way
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Garrett 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 a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1936

This was a challenging stop. One reason I like to visit post offices on Sunday is that often times it is easier to get external photographs of the buildings. Most of the times the buildings are in a business district with very little traffic.

That was not the case for my Garrett visit. There is a bowling aisle across the street from this one. It appears the patrons use the parking in front of the post office. After a few minutes, I knew the cars were not going move anytime soon. I had to make the best of this photographic situation.

In addition to the cars parked out front, the cornerstone on this one was also a challenge. The evergreen bushes butt right up against the cornerstone. Even when I tried to hold them back a bit it was difficult to get a straight-on photo of it. Once again the temptation to bring along loppers with me on my visits is overwhelming.

Let’s also add the sun behind the building. This also made getting good pictures also a challenge. As you can see from the first image below. When the sun is right above the building and low on the horizon it makes a dark image and hard to see the front of the building.

Although it was a challenging visit, I’m not entirely disappointed with the pictures I got during this visit. The lobby was also closed so I will be revisiting again to enjoy the mural.

David W. Gates Jr.

Sources

• Personal visit on 12/12/21 about 1:08 PM and 3/2/2023 about 8:57 AM and 06/30/2023 about 2:29 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
• Indiana 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): A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals: John C. Carlisle
• Smithsonian American Art Museum Mural Study: Clearing the Right of Way (mural study, Garrett, Indiana Post Office) | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu)
• Parma Conservation (https://parmaconservation.com)
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/165547302/joseph_hervey-cox: accessed June 6, 2024), memorial page for Joseph Hervey Cox (4 May 1915–12 Aug 1997), Find a Grave Memorial ID 165547302; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by Jim Dugan (contributor 47026362).