The 2023 Calendar of Post Offices and Places

Hello, everybody! Despite my lack of posting it has been a decent year for post office visits thus far, with a couple of sizable trips and some great stories. And, more importantly, the seventh annual Postlandia calendar is charging full steam ahead, with 12 all-new photogenic and interesting post offices and stories from all over the map.

The direct link to order online is [no longer available].

2023 Postlandia Calendar Cover:

(There's another image of this post office, and information about it, inside.)

As always, the calendar's selection of post offices is broad and varied in multiple respects: geographically, by size, by age—you name it! Which big-city post office was built off the preserved front of an old dairy? Where can you find the "Mail Bear," who guards your postcards as you deposit them into a tree stump? What does the second oldest [continuously active] post office building in America look like today? Which 1930s post office was robbed by thieves who broke into its safe using an acetylene torch? All this, and more, in the 2023 Postlandia Calendar of Post Offices and Places.

All calendars are printed on demand using the website Lulu. I've been using them for years and they've never disappointed. The images are full-size and they look amazing. The paper is super high quality; you can write whatever you want using a Sharpie and nothing will bleed through. You get all sorts of postal trivia tidbits to accompany all the usual holidays you'll find on a normal calendar. Basically, you will love it. Here are a handful of (small, compressed) sneak-preview images to whet your appetite if you're not already convinced:

Head for the Hills (of North Carolina):


Post Office in Paradise:


A Polar-izing Post Office:


Proceeds from the calendar go to supporting more trips, hundreds more post office visits, hundreds more images to post in the Post Mark Collectors Club (PMCC)'s Online Post Office Photo Archive, and more stories (which I always hope to eventually get back to posting here). Driving 4,150 miles to visit 250 post offices in Texas and New Mexico takes quite a bit in gas money! (Especially this year. Oy.) For the first time in years the price of the calendar has increased, but I guarantee it's still worth every penny. Don't forget to use your discounts, and thank you all for your support.

Sincerely,
Evan (Postlandia)

The 2020 Calendar of Post Offices and Places

So! It's been a while since I've written many articles, but I've still been logging several thousand miles visiting post offices. Alas, it's that glorious time of the year that brings us pumpkin spice and the annual Postlandia Calendar of Post Offices and Places. I'm not here to write about the flavors of autumn, so hello calendar! For those of you new to the 'tradition,' the Postlandia calendar is a 12-month calendar that features a different, interesting, and photogenic post office for each month, plus a description of why it's significant. There's nothing else quite like it anywhere. This will be the fourth iteration, and the calendar has now featured at least one post office from most U.S. states.

The 2020 edition of the Postlandia calendar takes us to post offices far and wide—notably the Caribbean, home to the U.S. Post Offices of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I've still yet to transcribe my adventures, but I visited every single P.O. in both U.S. territories earlier this year, and it was an unforgettable experience. You'll see two really cool finds from the Caribbean in the calendar. This said, the calendar also takes us to the Northwest, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and all the way out to the Grand Canyon. The post offices are big and small, and there's something for everyone. (Everyone who's interested in post offices and/or snail mail, at least.)

Here's the [edit: link removed; project retired] direct link to the calendar on Lulu, my trusty printer.

The images are printed in high resolution (far better than I present on this site), on high-quality paper. The dates include not only U.S. holidays but dates significant to American postal history. And, yes, you can write on it—again, good paper. Thick stuff.

Postlandia Calendar cover:


The cover (and one of the months) features one of my all-time favorite post offices: Milton, Pennsylvania. Heck, I featured it in a blog post back in 2011. But I stopped back to photograph it again earlier this year with far better lighting on the building, and this gem definitely deserves another look.

Delaware: Birth of an Empire


Illinois: A "Great American Post Office"


Texarkana: Two States, one Post Office


As always, there's so much more where these came from. I hope you experience as much enjoyment with this calendar next year as I've enjoyed curating it. Remember—I've trekked to thousands of post offices (I'm presently just shy of 10,000) so I can bring you some of the very best, anywhere.

I refuse to sell advertising on any website I manage or any product I manage, so this is the only way I make even a modicum of money from this hobby. It really does make a dent in my gas money bills, so I want to thank everyone who purchases a calendar for your support.

Again, the link to the calendar is [removed]. 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. The calendar is available [link removed], at the secure website of the high-quality printer Lulu. Everyone I know who's purchased either the 2017, the 2018, or the 2019 Postlandia post office calendar has loved it!

BONUS!!

I'm a huge fan of FDR-era (1933-1942) post offices, more than 1,000 of which house beautiful examples of New Deal artwork. Last year I introduced a second calendar that overlaps somewhat with our postal fandom, and this year I'm bringing it back: [retired link] New Deal Legacy: 2020!

It features a bit of postal goodness from the FDR era, but goes way beyond to highlight some of the myriad of accomplishments put forth by various New Deal agencies across the country, including the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Administration (PWA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

Again, each image in the calendar is accompanied by a full description of exactly what's going on.

2020 New Deal Legacy Calendar cover:


The projects...

Louisiana: Deco Justice


New Mexico: Desert Pride


Colorado: The High Road


The high-resolution images include the stories that make each one image significant. They are printed on thick, high-quality paper and will hold up to all of your writing-on-your-calendar needs. Just as with the Postlandia calendar, these span the country. There's something for everyone. Here is the combined link to my author's page that will lead you to both the the Postlandia and New Deal Legacy 2020 calendars.

Thank you for your continued support.
Evan

2018 Postal Summary

It's that time of the year again... the end of it! This blog has been around since 2010, and every year I've posted a year-end summary of all the post offices I've visited that year. So, welcome to our ninth annual summary!

(As always, my prior summaries can be found at these links: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Let's go!)

2018 was a comparatively modest year. I visited a hearty 565 new, active postal operations this year, my lowest new count since 2015. My grand total is now 9,287 post offices.

This year's travels included two sizable voyages out west: a weeklong jaunt beginning and ending in Albuquerque, a 2,400-mile round trip that netted 114 post offices across five states. A two-week adventure began in Phoenix and culminated at LAX, and resulted in 157 new post offices. I dedicated nearly a full day of that trip to visiting just one new office: North Rim, Arizona. (Fun fact, I was its first customer of the year!)

Thank you to the dozens of people who purchased the 2019 Postlandia calendar, and/or postcards! Your support is always greatly appreciated. This has always been a passion project, and I don't get paid a dime to do any of this.

Postlandia also has a popular, growing Instagram feed. Check it out!

As always, the counts in this post include active 'standard' post offices, Contract Postal Units (CPUs), carrier annexes, and mail processing plants. They do not include former sites (e.g. historic post office buildings), places I've previously been to but revisited (say, to take a better photo), or previously discontinued operations. Here are some assorted photos from various operations I've visited this year:

Middlsex-Essex Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), North Reading, Mass.


Liberal, Kansas former post office—a New Deal beaut!


Easton, PA: Lafayette College CPU


Yeso, NM former post office


I continued documenting the U.S. Postal Service's New Deal treasures as well, for example:

Northampton, PA: "Physical Changes of the Postman through the Ages", a cast stone relief by Maurice Glickman, 1939

2018 By the Numbers

I visited as many as 35 post offices in one day this year (in southern California), and post offices in as many as five states (specifically, KS, OK, CO, TX, and NM) in one day. State by state:

New York: 117 post offices
Focus/Foci: Western Hudson Valley, the Catskills

Pennsylvania: 83 post offices
Northeast corner

Arizona: 83 post offices
Eastern Phoenix area, I-40 from Kingman to Winslow, the Grand Canyon, and Flagstaff to Page

California: 50 post offices
I-15 from Baker to San Bernardino, San Bernardino Mountains, Route 91 around Anaheim

Massachusetts: 44 post offices
Western Worcester County; Salem/Beverly; Reading

Texas: 42 post offices
Western half of the northern panhandle, incl. Amarillo

New Mexico: 35 post offices
Northeast New Mexico: Clovis to Clayton

Utah: 25 post offices
Southern Utah: St. George area to Big Water

Kansas: 24 post offices
Southwest corner

New Hampshire: 24 post offices
Southeast New Hampshire

Maine: 16 post offices
Southwest Maine; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Oklahoma: 12 post offices
Western panhandle

Nevada: 11 post offices
I-15 corridor, excluding Las Vegas; new Vegas CPUs

New Jersey: 11 post offices
Northwest Bergen County

Rhode Island: 2 post offices
Naval Station Newport

Colorado: 1 post office
Campo

Here's the Campo, Colorado post office (southeastern-most in Colorado):

Milestones

9,000th post office: Wittmann, Arizona

Last year I finished visiting all publicly accessible post offices in Rhode Island...

Actually completing Rhode Island:

Last year WNPR's Colin McEnroe Show (listen to the full episode here) invited me to speak about some post offices across Connecticut and the U.S., and I mentioned for the sake of accuracy that I'd visited all *publicly accessible* post offices in Connecticut, although I had not been able to visit the operation located on the Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton. Thanks to a very generous listener, and U.S. Navy officers and officials at base, not only was I able to complete my Connecticut postal collection, but this year I got to visit the Naval Station post office of Newport, Rhode Island (the one P.O. in the Ocean State I had not been able to visit), as well as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard post office in Kittery, Maine! Thank you all!!!

Here I am at the Naval Station Newport post office:



Special thanks to Navalog (the base's magazine) for highlighting my visit in its April 19 issue, and for "A Time and a Place" magazine from the Catskills for featuring my travels in their December 2018 edition!

Navalog:


A Time and a Place:


Counting Counties:
I visited 43 new counties in 2018. They are shown in dark blue on this travel map:



Dear readers, thank you for your continued support! I'm hoping to share many more new post office stories and photos with you in 2019.

February Pictorial Postmark / Post Office Tour

Featuring a handful of postmark images and information from U.S. Postal Bulletin #22357. In one of our most recent posts we visited a wonderfully remote corner of the country with Valentine, Texas. Valentine offers a pictorial postmark for which people submit their mail for cancellation from around the world.

For those who might be a little less well-off romantically speaking, there's an apt pictorial postmark available from northeast Oklahoma by way of the Broken Arrow post office. This 20,000-square-foot post office building has been occupied by the Postal Service for 30 years.



The Broken Arrow Station postmark can be sent for at the address at right, and is available for 30 days as of February 14.



USPS introduced its Rosa Parks stamp with two first-day ceremonies in Detroit on February 4. However, Rosa Parks Station pictorial cancellations are available from both Oklahoma City and the small town of Newtonville, New Jersey, which lies 45 minutes southeast of Philadelphia. Why there? The pictorial is sponsored by the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, which lies in Newtonville. The pictorial postmark is available for 30 days beginning February 9.



The Newtonville post office is rather isolated for a New Jersey operation: the closest post office lies nearly seven miles away. The post office building is rather nondescript, sharing residence with, well, an actual residence!



However, the sign along the road is distinct and nice:


One of the nicest pictorial designs I've seen in a long time comes courtesy the Tucson post office, or, more precisely, the Postal History Foundation in Tucson, discussed in this previous entry. If you think that state appears to contain the states of Arizona and New Mexico, well, there's good reason for that!



The Campton, NH and Plymouth, NH post offices are offering pictorial cancellations tied to the release of the White Mountain National Forest quarter (February 21). Campton and Plymouth both lie near the southern end of the forest. The Plymouth post office is a large WPA building with interior mural.





Until next time!

Unique Stop: Postal History Foundation

I spent two afternoons at one post office. But this isn't your average P.O. The Postal History Foundation (PHF) in Tucson, Arizona (est. 1960) is an institution that's more than worth a visit for a postal buff.





Many stamp collectors recall that two of the best USPS Philatelic Centers in the country lied in Providence, RI and Tucson, AZ. These were located within each city's respective main post office and had all the stamps you could want, and more. They would feature frequent pictorial cancellations as well. These are now gone, though my father obtained a postmark from Tucson's "Old Pueblo" Philatelic Center before it closed:



Without a dedicated philatelic staff, something unique has happened: present-day Tucson pictorial cancellations are now serviced, instead of by USPS, by a Contract Postal Unit (CPU): namely, the Postal History Foundation's. Longtime readers might recall that there was an 11-11-11 pictorial cancel available in Tucson. Look closely at the image, and you can see the address is that of the PHF. Here's a cancel I received back in the mail―beautifully struck, as you can see.



Effectively, the PHF is now the Philatelic Center for Tucson. But I'd realized none of this when I walked in. I just went to visit a CPU and get a cancel for my collection. The PHF maintains a Postmark America-style permanent pictorial, as well as a couple of standard round daters. The stamp selection was impeccable (read: much more thorough than that of nearly any 'standard' post office), and I bought a sheet of the U.S.S. Constitution stamps.



But the PHF had much more, so I was lead around the floor of the foundation and library. I spent most of my time with the amicable and knowledgeable Paul Nelson, and took photos so you can take a tour along with me!

Look―I'm the Naco Postmaster!


Naco is a Mexican border town about 100 miles southeast of Tucson. The old interior structure, including P.O. boxes and window, is at the Postal History Foundation. They preserve many postal artifacts there, which I'll let you visit and discover for yourselves. Or you can view their website here. But you're allowed in the back, and I found it loads of fun.

The primary work room was decorated with many enlarged stamps along the walls. Around the room there were two primary clusters of tables, each of which contained work stations at which volunteers sorted stamps -- cancelled or mint -- and other materials for the foundation, much of which is available free of charge to educational institutions around the country. There were about four volunteers for most of the first afternoon I spent there.

Beyond this there is a reading room with art exhibits and two libraries stacked with goodies, including every issue of Linn's Stamp News ever publishe, as well as archives of other philatelic publications, postal references, and other history books.



In the museum there are older donated stamps available for at or below face value; I bought $40 worth. Here Paul told me about the PHF's many youth education initiatives. If you donate your cancelled stamps to the PHF, they will make packets available to teachers to help teach kids about anything from history to transportation. They make these themed sets of stamps available to teachers absolutely free. I think it's a great cause.

Tucson's got several other interesting postal facets to it. But those will have to wait for another post.