The 2021 Calendar of Post Offices and Places

[Edit, March 2021: the calendar has been removed from public sale.]

Hello, everyone! It's looking more and more likely that there will be a 2021 next year. To help celebrate, I am pleased to introduce the fifth annual Postlandia Calendar of Post Offices and Places! When I first started creating these back in 2016, I'd just completed my goal of visiting all 50 states by the age of 30. Since then I've reached 10,000 post offices photographed across the country, and this Thanksgiving I'd like thank everyone who has followed my travels, viewed my photographs, read my stories, and supported my mission by purchasing these calendars #ThanksForTheGasMoney.

The Postlandia calendar once again takes you across thousands of miles, celebrating 12 new photogenic and historic post offices from all across America. This year's batch takes you from the Caribbean to New England, down to the heart of Texas, and out to the rural West. Some of the offices are ridiculously historic, and a few have been thoughtfully repurposed. There are a couple of Depression-era Deco beauties, and one post office that dates back to 1816.

Each office is captioned, beneath a high-resolution image (much greater than what I present here) printed on thick, lustrous 100-pound paper that can stand up to your pens and Sharpies with ease.

[Link removed, March 2021:] Here is the direct link to the calendar on Lulu, my trusty printer.

The dates feature not just U.S. and religious holidays, but dates significant to American postal history. Because, why not? Learning is cool! Ever wanted to know when the first U.S. Airmail flight took place, or when the National Postal Museum opened? Find those dates, and more, inside.

2021 Postlandia Calendar Cover:


The cover (and one of the months) features one of the coolest post offices in the country: Hinsdale, New Hampshire, which has been housed in this very building since 1816. I couldn't believe my luck upon my visit several years back, when the setting sun hit the building at just the right angle, perfectly amplifying the building's warm hues. Here's a bit more of what's in store:

North Carolina: Deco Classic


Connecticut: Dining in Style


Michigan: Drive-Up Only


If, like me, you've been largely stuck at home this year and missing the world beyond, I hope this brings you some vicarious joy from the open road.

I've always said that this is the perfect gift for the special USPS employee or snail mail enthusiast in your life; a wonderful purchase for philatelist and stamp collectors; and generally speaking, just the perfect post office calendar. Again, the calendar is available [link removed], at the secure website of the high-quality printer Lulu. Everyone I know who's purchased the 2017, 2018, 2019, and/or 2020 Postlandia calendar has enjoyed it.

Postlandia accepts no advertising, because I hate ads. Selling calendars is how I recover a modicum of money doing what I love to do. You can also reach out to me directly if you'd be interested in donating. And of coure, find Postlandia on Facebook and Instagram!

Thank you!
Evan

Post Offices of the Caribbean

Three years ago I wrote a post about the post offices of Puerto Rico. It was fun to write; my one regret was that I didn't have any photos of my own to present to you. This has since changed!

The U.S. territories of Pureto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were pummeled by the twin storms of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in late 2017. This led to destruction that was widely covered in the media. Postally speaking, the storms led to the suspension of all postal operations for multiple days, and the shutdown of many post offices for prolonged periods of time. A couple of post offices were undergoing continuing repairs and renovations a year and a half later.


Hallway in the Guaynabo post office in February 2019, undergoing repairs and renovations.

In January 2019 I saw an article about the newly restored New Deal murals at the Emancipation Gardens post office in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Turns out that was all the motivation I needed to plan a trip to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in order to visit and photograph every single postal operation. Over 2.5 weeks in February and March 2019 I visited each of the 132 postal operations (post offices, Contract Postal Units, and mail processing facilities) in Puerto Rico and each of the 12 post offices on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to photographing every post office I obtained postmarks from every single one, both for my personal postmark collection and for the National Postmark Museum in Bellevue, Ohio.

First and foremost, the trip would not have been possible without the incredible patience and helpfulness of members of USPS's Corporate Communications team, as well as officials from USPS's Caribbean District. Thank you!

I have many stories to share from my wonderful experiences in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and I look forward to sharing them with you. For now, let me share with you a handful of interesting statistics:

• Nights: 16
• Lodgings: 7
• Flights: 6
• Ferry rides: 4
• Rental cars: 2
• Miles driven: 1,473
• Miles driven on the left side of the road: 41
• Puerto Rico municipios visited: 78 of 78
• "Safari bus" trips: 2
• "Politaxi" trips: 1

I am pleased to report that the Post Mark Collectors Club (PMCC)'s Online Post Office Photo Collection now has images of every U.S. postal operation in the Caribbean. The collection now boasts 216 photographs of Puerto Rico post offices, and 21 photographs of post offices in the U.S. Virgin Islands.



The earliest photos date to the 1930s, when federally financed post offices in Mayagüez and Ponce were completed. The collection also features about 40 photos taken by Postlandia friend John Gallagher during trips in 1999 and 2000. There are nine photos of former sites (including three of the magnificent former main post office in San Juan), and two of discontinued Contract Postal Units.

Personally, I've enjoyed comparing many post offices as they appeared twenty years ago vs. in 2019. The palate is brighter in Puerto Rico, and quite a few post offices have been given fantastic, rich paint schemes in recent years. Check out these blue beauties, two of many from the western side of Puerto Rico.




The Rincon and Camuy post offices, each photographed in 2000 and 2019. Photos from 2000 courtesy John Gallagher.

There's plenty more to enjoy in these collections. These post offices really are wonderful and unique, and I invite you to explore the photographs here:

• Puerto Rico post office photos: List, with links to photos; alphabetized album.
• U.S. Virgin Island post office photos: List, with links to photos; alphabetized album.

Hope you enjoy! —Evan