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De Pere Wisconsin Post Office

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De Pere WI Post Office 54115
De Pere WI Post Office 54115

ADDRESS: 123 9th St., De Pere, Wisconsin 54115

When I put in the address of the De Pere Post Office into my GPS, I was directed to the building you see above. The thing is I wanted the original post office from the 1930’s. So needless to say I was a little disappointed when I saw this one. Don’t get me wrong I still enjoy visiting each and every post office, but my mind was set on seeing the older building.

Anyway, I took several pictures of this building, proceeded inside and found a dedication plaque. I inquired at the counter where the original post office building was located. The lady immediately knew the address and gave me brief directions. Folks sometimes that is how it is when you are on the road visiting as many post offices as you can on short road trips.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Sources

  • Personal visit on 8/21/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
  • United States Postal Service

Former De Pere Wisconsin Post Office

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De Pere (Former) WI Post Office 54115
De Pere (Former) WI Post Office 54115

ADDRESS: 416 George St. De Pere, Wisconsin 54115
ARTIST: Lester W. Bentley
TITLE: The Red Pieta, Nicholas Perrot, “Give Us This Day
MEDIUM: Three individual mural panels
STATUS:  The murals no longer reside in the original building on George Street. They have been moved to the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Call ahead to verify the hours of the museum before heading out to view this one. The panels were located on the wall of one of the stairwells of the museum.
YEAR: 1942

When I entered the address for the De Pere Post Office into my car’s GPS it took me to the newer post office, about a half mile away from the original building. So I took pictures of the newer building and waited in line to ask the lady behind the counter where the original post office was located.  She immediately knew and gave me the address and brief directions to the building you see above.

I was immediately impressed with the look of it. Most of the buildings from this era are typically just a square box with a flat roof. This particular one has a wonderful stone facade and bell housing on the roof. I’m not actually sure if that is what you call the white box thing, but I’m at a loss what the technical architectural name is. Do I have any architects followers? or construction folks who might know what this is called? For now, I’ll just refer to it as a bell housing with weather vane. It’s a wonderful decorative feature.

My initial research reviled there was a mural at one time located here, but clearly the building has been sold a number of years ago and appears to be privately owned. I proceeded inside to get a better look and to see if the mural still exist here. Sadly, I did not see the mural and only one office was open at the time I visited. The mural was not visible from the one office I saw. The gentleman who greeted me was very cordial and showed me the old post office photographs in his office and lobby.

So I need help on this one folks. Does anyone know what happened to the mural that was once in the lobby of this wonderful post office? At the time I visited I was heading home from a road tip and didn’t have time to stop at the local historical society. If anyone has more information on this one I’d love to hear from you. Any newspaper articles or artifacts from this one would be great to see.

Update – November 11, 2013

After further research and some phone calls I discovered the original murals once located here are now housed in the Neville Public Museum. Observing and photographing these was my object in early October 2013. Since I knew it was there, I set aside a weekend to head up to Green Bay to see this with my own eyes. What I found is shown in the images below.  Three panels is a unique feature of this display.

Thanks for stopping by,

David W. Gates Jr.

The Red Pieta by Lester W. Bentley, photo credit David W. Gates Jr.
Give Us This Day by Lester W. Bentley, photo credit David W. Gates Jr.
Nicholas Perrot by Lester W. Bentley, photo credit David W. Gates Jr.

De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office 54115
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office 54115
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office 54115
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office 54115 Cornerstone
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office 54115 DG
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Artists Signature
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Center
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Center Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Center Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Center Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Full
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Left
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Left Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Left Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Left Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Left Detail
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Plaque
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Plaque
De Pere (Former) Wisconsin Post Office Mural 54115 Right

“Used with permission of the Neville Public Museum”

Sources

Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office

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Ladysmith WI Post Office 54848
Ladysmith WI Post Office 54848

ADDRESS: 212 Miner Ave. W. Ladysmith, Wisconsin 54848
ARTIST: Elsa Jemne
TITLE: Development of The Land
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural) 
STATUS: The mural is no longer viewable, having either been destroyed or painted over. None of my research has confirmed the fate of this artwork. There is an original black and white photograph on file at the National Archives, College Park Maryland for viewing.
YEAR: 1938

Last week I was up in Wisconsin volunteering on the Ice Age Trail. When I finished on Sunday I though I’d drive up to Ladysmith. I was excited when I first saw the building. It is a classic WPA era building with the signature corner-stone on the lower left of the building.

When I initially looked into this one I noticed it was listed as having a mural. When I visited it was a Sunday and the building was closed. I tried to peer through the windows but could not see the mural. So while I was sitting outside, I checked my phone and found out this one had been painted over. “Painted Over” I said out loud to myself. How could artwork like this be painted over?

For a look at what the mural once looked like please visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

I know absolutely nothing about the circumstances surrounding the history of this building or the mural that once graced the lobby. So Ladysmith is another one of those post office I’ll need to re-visit and research more. I have a burning desire to find out what the mural looked like and maybe just maybe gain enough interest to maybe find out if its possible to recover it. If the painting can’t be recovered, I wonder if it would be possible to have another local artist re-create the mural as a sort of reminder what was once there. Food for thought as I sit here and think about it.

Does anyone else know about the Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office? Does anyone happen to have any old photographs of this building or the mural that once existed here? I’d love to hear from you?

Thanks for stopping by,

David W. Gates Jr.

Development of the Land by Elsa Jemne, photo credit David W. Gates Jr.
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848
Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office 54848 Cornerstone
They painted over the mural? What!!!

Sources