Celebrating our Nation's Post Offices
Post office buildings with geological survey markers.
ADDRESS: 202 E Kirkham St, Litchfield, Illinois 62056
The Litchfield post office is a great building. This was another one of my visits during my Saturday, October 24, 2020 road trip. This building also includes a US Geological survey marker on the side of the building. Check out the woodwork in the lobby. Very nice!
David W. Gates Jr.
ADDRESS: 1080 Fairfax Street, Carlyle, Illinois 62231
ARTIST: Curt Drewes
TITLE: Fish Hatchery, Farm, and Dairy Farming
MEDIUM: Stone (reliefs)
STATUS: The Carlyle post office is still an active, operating facility, and the reliefs can be viewed by interested members of the public. The relief resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1939
It’s not often you find stone relief as art in a post office. Most of the works you see are murals, so it’s refreshing to see something different. Carlyle is a perfect example of this. A great looking cast stone sets this building apart from the rest.
What also sets this building apart from the rest is the accessibility ramp on the right side of the building. Please don’t take this the wrong way folks. When the government mandated all buildings be ADA compliant it was a great thing. What concerns me was the lack of effort in implementing the ramps on various buildings.
The Carlyle building is a perfect example of the lack of effort and forethought when installing the ramp. I’m 99% sure the corner-stone for this building is located on the right side, exactly where the ramp is now located. I’ve seen examples of this on other buildings so I’m not surprise that the builders must have covered it up. It is my thinking the corner-stone has been entirely covered up.
This lack of though is what make me sad. It’s almost as if the building has been defaced by vandals. Maybe that is extreme and maybe some folks don’t really care and will just comment, “It’s just a corner-stone” but I argue, the corner-stone cost money to install and engrave when the building was constructed. To me its an important element to the overall design of the building. And for that reason alone it’s frustrating to observe these situations.
What are your thoughts on the cover up the corner-stone? Was it indeed covered up? Maybe someone did have the fore thought and removed the corner-stone and it’s in storage. Hey now that would make me happy. Any ideas out there? Please comment and share below.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
ADDRESS: 200 S. Second Street, Clarksville, Tennessee 37040
My research reveled there was a mural installed in the old Clarksville post office. Which post office in Clarksville? I have no idea. The building I show in this article seems too old to have had artwork from the depression, but maybe I’m wrong. What little I did find, mentions F. Luis Mora and is titled “Arrival of Col. John Donaldson”. My research also revels this may have been destroyed. Does anyone out there know anything about the Clarksville mural? Better yet do you have pictures of it? Howard Hull’s book doesn’t even mention Clarksville.
I found the downtown Clarksville, TN building but this was from the 1960’s. I’m posting this article in hopes that someone out there has some information they’d be willing to share.
At the time I visited, I wasn’t willing to pay the admission since I was only interested in this section of the museum. After speaking with the front desk, I was also told there is no mural and the building was remodeled when it became the museum. No need to pay $7 for a quick look inside I said to myself. My wife was also waiting in the car and we were in a hurry to get dinner.
Now that I’m writing up this article, I kind of wish I would have taken the extra few minutes to see the interior of this old building. Although, I may not have seen anything related to the old post office days, I think it would have been neat just be inside such an old very beautiful building. So folks you can learn from my mistakes. If you get the chance to view the inside of this building I’s suggest you take a few minutes to go inside, and if you do please report back and comment below.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.