Post offices with artwork.

New Castle Delaware Post Office

October 1, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 501 Delaware St, New Castle, DE 19720
ARTISTS: J. Scott Williams
TITLE: William Penn Welcomed at New Castle
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The New Castle 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

Check out all those overgrown bushes in the from the building. Why do I point that out? Well, because there is a cornerstone somewhere behind them.

And yes, this one was tricky to photograph. I did end up crawling into the bushes to photograph the cornerstone. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

I’m delighted the building is in such great shape and well cared for. These are just some of the things I notice as I drive around Delaware. It seems the older buildings have been well preserved and that makes me happy.

David W. Gates Jr.

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Cornerstone

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Mural Detail

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Mural Signature

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Mural Center

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Mural Right

New Castle DE Post Office 19720 Mural Left

Sources

Personal visit on 8/14/21 about 4:40 PM 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
Smithsonian National Postal Museum: William Penn Welcomed by the People of New Castle | National Postal Museum (si.edu)

Selbyville Delaware Post Office

September 30, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 23 Church St., Selbyville, Delaware 19975
ARTIST: William Howard. Calfee
TITLE: Chicken Farm
MEDIUM: Oil and termpera (mural)
STATUS: The Selbyville 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: 1942

Another wonderful stop compete with mural and challenging cornerstone to photograph. Nice weather and blue skies always make me happy when photographing the exterior of the buildings. I lucked out with the weather during this trip. I’m really happy with both the exterior building images and the mural is wonderful.

Selbyville was another building where the cornerstone is covered up with bushes. It was a bit of a challenge holding them back just enough so I could get a good photo of it. My preference would be a straight on image, but something this is difficult to achieve.

David W. Gates Jr.

Selbyville DE Post Office 19975 Cornerstone

Selbyville DE Post Office 19975 Mural Center

Selbyville DE Post Office 19975 Mural Left

Selbyville DE Post Office 19975 Mural Right

Selbyville DE Post Office 19975 Mural Detail

Selbyville-DE-Post-Office-19975-Muralcrop-scaled

Sources

Personal visit on 8/14/21 about 12:02 AM 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
Smithsonian American Art Museum: William H. Calfee | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu)
Ask Art: William Calfee – Biography (askart.com)

Attica Indiana Post Office

September 29, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 107 E Main St, Attica, IN 47918
ARTIST: Reva Jackman
TITLE: Trek of the Covered Wagons to Indiana
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Attica post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the pubic. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1938

I’m grateful for the wonderful weather, blue skies when I visited the Attica, Indiana post office. Unfortunately, the lobby is closed on Sunday’s and I was not able to see the mural. I’ll have to plan another trip.

Note to self: plan your next trip during business hours so you can see the mural.

Update, I was able to re-visit this one in February 2022 during business hours. I love the display case they have in the lobby. It has some great post office memorabilia from the past. Great historical display.

David W. Gates Jr.