ADDRESS: 214 North Franklin Street, Decatur, Illinois, 62523
ARTIST: Edward Millman
TITLE: Early Pioneer, Social Consciousness, and Growth of Democracy
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
STATUS: The Decatur post office is still and active, operating facility and the murals can be viewed by interested members of the public. They reside in the lobby in multiple locations.
YEAR: 1938
ARTIST: Edgar Britton
TITLE: Natural Resources of Illinois – Frank Lloyd Wright and Carl Sandburg, Natural Resources of Illinois – John Deere and Colonel Francis Parker,’ and Development of Illinois
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
YEAR: 1938
ARTIST: Mitchell Siporin
TITLE: Fusion of Agriculture and Industry
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
My road trip in early February took me to the Decatur Illinois area. Since this was a last minute road trip I did not make any plans on where I was going to stay for the night. By the time the evening rolled around I was getting a bit anxious. I really did not feel like paying for an expensive hotel. I also was not able to find a campground in this area.
What I did find was an excellent Bed & Breakfast. I was really excited that I was able to get in touch with the owner, as it turned out I was the only guest for the night. I had this great big old Victorian house all to myself. Wow! what a way to live it up for the night. It was really a treat to have friendly personal service. The next morning I was served an excellent breakfast with eggs, waffle, toast, juice the whole works. If you haven’t figured out yet another one of my favorite things to do is eat.
If you are ever in the Decatur area and in need of a place to stay I highly recommend the Victoriana Bed & Breakfast Inn. The post office is another highlight in Decatur. Here are some more Decatur Illinois Post Office pictures.
UPDATE September 2015
So when I initially visited Decatur, I was unaware and hand not done my homework prior to making my site visit. After several years of working on this project I’ve discovered there are three artists who have done work here. It is my intention to re-visit this post office and take more detail pictures of this one.
I will also be creating three seperate articles one for each artists. I think to include them all here in one article would be too much information. So there you have it. I’m not perfect nor do I claim to be perfect. But after studying this one more in-depth, I’ve come to realize how important it is to be more accurate in my reporting and discovery. For now please enjoy the photos I do have.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 2/7/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
- (affiliate link) Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- Decatur Tribune: (https://www.decaturtribune.com/2023/09/27/city-beat-post-office-murals-attract-attention-of-decatur-visitor/)
Oooh, a fancy PO today! 🙂 Sounds like a nice time.
Yes, a really fancy post office indeed. I had no idea this one was so large and had so much to see. Both entrances and the lobby had very large nice murals.
Hi David,
Thank you so much for the kind words of my mother’s bed & breakfast, the Victoriana. As she doesn’t have computer access, she telephoned me and we looked it up together and she was really thrilled with your comments! This is so nice, thanks for letting her know. I have ‘liked’ this on my facebook page so others can enjoy it also!
Blessings,
Brenda French
Brenda,
Thanks for the response, I had a wonderful time visiting Decatur and staying at your mother’s B&B. What a treat it was. Say hello for me.
Take care,
David
David,
Having looked through some of the Wisconsin post offices, I found that I really like the one in Zenda. How cool is that?! I hope to see more from your next trip.
Deano