USPS Officials Order Historic Murals Covered in 12 States; Considering Removal

From Rural Florida to Upstate New York

Internal emails obtained via the Freedom of Information Act reveal that an "artwork workgroup” of high-level United States Postal Service (USPS) officials, including attorneys and USPS's Federal Preservation Officer, has directed facilities and maintenance personnel to cover up 80-year-old murals housed at 16 post offices spanning 12 states. USPS is considering the murals' outright removal, and it is unclear whether this initiative will expand to include historic artwork at additional locations.

Recent photographs from four of these locations show tarp-like plastic sheets, resembling heavy-duty garbage bags, covering the entirety of their respective murals to render them unviewable. The coordinated effort is without modern precedent, and the Postal Service has repeatedly declined to explain its actions in response to inquiries from local news reporters and even members of Congress.

Before and after (covered): Photographs of the 1940 mural, "Cotton—From Field to Mill," at the Jackson, Georgia post office, taken Jan. 2008 and Aug. 2020. Photos courtesy Jimmy Emerson.



Impacted post offices serve locations ranging from small cities in Illinois and Florida to the suburbs of Boston and Baltimore, as well as multiple locations in the Deep South. Several of the post offices are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the post offices, in New York's Hudson Valley, was uniquely designed to the specifications of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose New Deal programs commissioned each of the murals.

Dismissing Information Requests

Postmasters and employees at post offices have been instructed not to respond to requests for comment regarding the murals. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many know little, if anything, about the situation. Requests to USPS for information are funneled through communications "field managers" for inquiries from "the Postmasters and media," and Government Relations (GR) officials "for any congressional inquiries they may get." The response is exactly the same.

Internally this blanket response is known as the holding statement, which reads as follows:

In past decades, artwork has been placed in Post Office lobbies for permanent public display. Traditionally, Post Office lobbies were community gathering spots, frequently visited by community members from all walks of life, making those locations particularly accessible display sites.

The Postal Service respects and embraces the uniqueness and diversity of every individual. And we encourage contributions of people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, including those of our employees and members of the communities we serve.

While it is the policy of the Postal Service to preserve and protect the historic artwork in its collection for future generations, we are mindful that certain murals generate strong feelings for some of our employees and customers.

With that in mind, discussions are being held on how to properly handle and safeguard the future of those pieces. We are evaluating each of the pieces and we will work to ensure that appropriate action is taken on select murals, if deemed necessary.

On Friday, August 28, Postlandia emailed the following questions regarding the murals and "artwork workgroup" to two senior Public Relations Representatives, for this article:

• When and why was this group formed? Who is on it and why?
• How were these murals selected for covering and analysis [for potential removal]?
• How are the murals being analyzed? When will a determination for the murals' “final disposition” be complete?
• What are the options being considered for the murals’ “final disposition”—e.g. returning to the way things were; adding informational plaques, etc.; relocation to storage; relocation to a public-facing institution, like a museum; or destruction?

Instead of answers to any of these questions, the author was treated to a startling string of private Reply All emails to which he was accidentally cc'ed, in which the two senior Public Relations officials questioned his character and the motivation for this journalism. They proceeded with the following internal discussion:

• PR (1): "I assume this is someone we dealt with before? Who is he with?"
• PR (2): "He is the guy who recently filed two foias for the murals. He's angry that we're covering up some of the murals in POs. ...
• PR (1): "Based on that I think we don't provide further information."

At this point one of the officials attempted to recall two of the emails; they later apologized for the "inadvertent emails" while fully denying the request for information.

Regulations and Precedent

The Postal Service is responsible for the preservation and maintenance of most of the 1,400+ murals, bas reliefs, and sculptures commissioned for federal buildings (including post offices) by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts and similar New Deal agencies between 1934 and 1944. Over the years many of these works have been mistakenly attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA); however, the WPA's Federal Art Project did not participate in the creation of artwork—also known as "decorations," or "embellishments"—for federal buildings.

The covering of these murals deviates sharply from modern USPS precedents. In 2019, when one couple petitioned for the modification or removal of the mural "Three Ages of Phoebe Goodell Judson," which has been on display at the Lynden, Washington post office since 1942, a USPS official "cited the General Services Administration Fine Arts Policies and Procedures in his response saying “adverse public opinion ... does not justify the relocation, covering from public view, or removal of artwork."

As recently as July 2020, in response to complaints about the mural "John Eliot Speaks to the Natick Indians," housed at the post office in downtown Natick, Massachusetts since 1937, a USPS Communications official confirmed:

Our policy has always been not to cover or remove these artworks based on one person or group's artistic interpretation, but to preserve the works in our custody for future generations. In some cases, we have added interpretive text alongside a mural to give it historical context.

The Postal Service's management of New Deal artwork is governed by Handbook RE-1: U.S. Postal Service Facilities Guide to Real Property Acquisitions and Related Services, § 333.2, which begins: "It is the policy of the Postal Service to preserve, protect, and maintain the New Deal Art Collection, defined as the Postal Service-owned murals and sculptures commissioned specifically for Postal Service facilities from 1934 to 1944..."

It is unclear how covering and potentially removing the murals supports this mission.

Generally, the Postal Service only relocates such New Deal artwork when the agency "disposes" of a historic building bearing such artwork, and the artwork needs a new home (see: Greenwich and Fairfield, Connecticut; and Virginia Beach, Virginia). This is not the case with any of the 16 post offices whose murals are impacted by the current initiative. While USPS has declined to specify why these particular murals have been targeted, in multiple instances the works have been subjected to one or more public complaints regarding their potentially discomforting content. Some depict slavery in some capacity.

Internal USPS emails reveal that three post offices with "American Indian themed mural subject," which have also been "subject of recent complaints," are excluded from the present program. Instead, informational statements with text provided by the Federal Preservation Officer are being posted at the post offices: Natick, Massachusetts; Wayne, PA; and Greensboro, GA (more about this one later). Some question why USPS did not immediately take this approach with the now-covered murals, presuming it ultimately decides not to relocate the works.

While USPS Handbook RE-1 does not discuss the remedies available under such circumstances, the parallel policy of the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages thousands of Federal properties and an extensive New Deal art collection of its own, is quite clear: "GSA's policy is to retain the existing location of an installed artwork—be it the original location or a permanent relocation—and to honor the artist's original intent. Adverse public or tenant opinion does not justify the relocation, covering from public view, or removal of artwork" (Fine Arts Policies and Procedures § 3.4.1: Relocation Eligibility). It is unclear why USPS's policy differs from the GSA's.

USPS guidelines state that all changes to a mural's disposition must meet with the approval of the Federal Preservation Officer (FPO)—currently Daniel Delahaye, who has held the position since December 2013. The inclusion of Mr. Delahaye and Postal Service lawyers on the artwork committee suggests that at least some of these murals are being considered for removal and/or relocation to a non-USPS location. Per Handbook RE-1, § 333.2 ¶ 2:

"No New Deal Art Collection artwork may be removed, sold, lent, or otherwise disposed of without the Federal Preservation Officer’s (FPO) written approval. It is the intention of the Postal Service that New Deal Art Collection artwork will remain the property of the Postal Service. When the Postal Service anticipates transferring ownership of a Postal Service building containing New Deal Art Collection artwork, the FPO will take steps the FPO deems appropriate to safeguard such artwork. The FPO may relocate such artwork to another Postal Service facility, may leave such artwork in place under a loan arrangement with the new building owner, may relocate such artwork to a non-Postal location under a loan agreement with a governmental or private museum, library, arts center, historical society, or similar non-profit organization, or may take such other steps as the FPO deems appropriate. The FPO, in consultation with the Law Department, will determine the terms of each loan agreement for New Deal Art Collection artwork. ..."

Precedent raises questions as to whether these regulations were intended to permit USPS's current course of action; however, it is possible FPOs have just opted not to execute their full authority in the past. Under a broad interpretation of this text, USPS may make any changes to the disposition of any or all items in its New Deal Art Collection, at any time, so long as the move is approved by the Federal Preservation Officer.

The Postal Service has not responded to an email seeking clarification of this matter.

Where Are the Murals?

An internal USPS email (obtained under FOIA), dated August 4, identifies the 16 post offices whose murals were to be covered, stating that the "process should be complete within three weeks." [Updated, Sept. 4:] Visitors to six of these post offices have confirmed, by way of social media post or email to Postlandia, that the affected murals have been covered: five in their entirety, and one in part—by a USPS banner, no less. As of August 28 the 12-panel mural in Rhinebeck, New York, had not been covered.

The post offices (and respective murals) are:

• Luverne, Alabama: "Cotton Field," by Arthur Getz (1942). Getz illustrated 213 covers for The New Yorker between 1938 and 1988, and his work appears at two other post offices: Lancaster, New York, and Bronson, Michigan. Alabama Moments:
  

  “Getz received the commission for Luverne on the basis of designs he had submitted for a competition for the War Department building. As a northern artist he was warned by the Section when he proposed the theme of cotton: “It will be necessary for you to acquaint yourself thoroughly with the appearance of a cotton plant as the individuals using this post office will be especially observant on this point.” Getz consulted southern painters as well as researching the growing of cotton while he worked on the mural. The story of the completion of Getz’s mural was all too familiar late in the Section program. He had received the commission for the Luverne mural in May of 1941. In February of 1942, while completing the project, he needed a letter for his draft board from the Section to allow him to finish the work. Getz seems to have managed to complete the mural and send it to Luverne for installation only a week or ten days before he was to be inducted into military service.”

  Postlandia has confirmed by way of social media post that the mural has been covered with a gray plastic "tarp." Prior to its covering Postlandia had been alerted to several posts on Facebook objecting to the content of the mural.
• Madison, Florida:"Long Staple Cotton," by George Snow Hill (1937). Hill also painted the mural for the post office in Perry, Florida. Greene Publishing reported the covering of the mural on August 18. "The painting depicts workers preparing cotton to be [baled] and shipped out. The painting pays tribute to the long staple cotton industry that was the economic engine that drove much of North Florida, including Madison County, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to an article in the Florida Historical Quarterly, Madison was “one of the centers for ginning and shipping of Sea Island cotton in the late 19th century."
  
  Hill's works have long been controversial in St. Petersburg, Florida, and have at times brought charges of racism. St. Pete Catalyst details the numerous fascinating debates over his artwork.
• Camilla, Georgia: "Theme of the South," by Laura G. Douglas (1942). She is quoted as saying, "the South has been sung in song, literature, prose, and poetry, but the portrayal of the South in painting has not been successfully done as yet. I seek to put the poetry and history of the South in paint, but with vigor and creativeness and not sentimentalism."
• Greensboro, Georgia: "The Burning of Greensborough" and "Cotton Picking in Georgia," by Carson Davenport (1939). The U.S. Postal Service has taken dramatically different approaches to these paired murals, both of which feature intense subject matter.
  
  The National Postal Museum details why this post office received two murals. It begins:
  

  As was typical of the Section, the artist was encouraged to visit Greensboro to best determine a subject that “embodies some idea appropriate to the building or to, the particular locale of Greensboro.” Finding the right subject matter to satisfy the community of Greensboro was not easy, and eventually led to intervention by town leaders and Georgia congressman, Paul Brown. The congressman, as well as local banker and self-appointed historian T.B. Rice, were particularly dismayed the subject of Davenport’s mural was Cotton Picking in Georgia. They were adamant the subject should have been The Burning of Greensborough, illustrating a 1787 attack on the village by the Muscogee (Creek) Indians.

  The Postal Service has covered, and is considering the removal of, "Cotton Picking in Georgia." By contrast, regarding "The Burning of Greensborough," the FPO wrote in the August 4th email:
  

  "Three POs have American Indian themed murals subject of recent complaints that will not be covered. I sent three installation heads texts for posting near the mural at each of those locations."

• Jackson, Georgia: "Cotton—From Field to Mill," by Philip Evergood (1940). The phenomenon of newly covered murals was first brought to the attention of the author by a post office and New Deal enthusiast, Jimmy Emerson of Georgia, who has photographed New Deal post office murals in all 50 states and randomly encountered the covered mural during a trip through Jackson on August 12th. The mural had been covered two days earlier.
  
  The covering was soon reported by Larry Stanford of the Jackson Progress-Argus in Jackson, Georgia. The mural was installed at the city's then-new post office (now Municipal Court building) in 1940, where it resided for 55 years until the Postal Service relocated—along with the mural—in 1995.
  
  The Smithsonian American Art Museum describes Philip Evergood as an artist whose "experiences in the Great Depression led him to turn from biblical subjects to social criticism. He was also active in organizations devoted to the civil rights of artists. ... Evergood’s art, like his other activities, reflects his devotion to egalitarian ideals, and his early paintings, especially, are statements of sympathy for those who struggle against oppression."
  
  Stanford writes, "When the mural was moved to the new post office, there was a minor controversy when it was found that in order to place it over the postmaster’s office door, a 36-inch section at the bottom in the center of the mural, needed to be removed in order to fit it around the door frame. Art experts were brought in and it was determined that removing that section would not affect the integrity of the mural."
  
  More recent controversy stems from the content of the mural, which "depicts Black and white farm workers harvesting cotton and loading it to be taken the mill during the Great Depression." While USPS has declined to cite any objections it has received, Postlandia found two, including an anonymous comment to the project page for the mural on the Living New Deal website, which objects to the "glorif[ication of] slavery or anything that looks like it."
  
  Documents received by Postlandia suggest that the negative opinions of this work are not uniform. The office of Congressman Jody Hice (GA-10, R), whose District covers Jackson, has "received a few comments from constituents regarding a mural depicting early 20th-century agricultural life and its recent cover by a black tarp." In response to the question of why the 80-year-old mural was covered up, a Government Relations official responded with the aforementioned holding statement.
  
  In response to the Progress-Argus's coverage, former Butts County Commissioner (Jackson's county) Harry Marett responded:

  I read your report concerning the mural that has graced the walls of the Jackson post office for generations. Interest and dismay were my two main reactions. There are several things in that article that just do not ring true. First, if there has been no decision to remove it, then why has it been covered? If a final decision is yet to be made, what is the harm in leaving it as it has historically been?
  
  Do postal officials not realize that they are employees of taxpayers and that failing to provide all available information to those citizens is a slap in the face and an affront to all who are interested?

  An additional commenter to the Living New Deal project page, Brenda Adams, writes:

  This mural is a representation of southern life when cotton was king. My husband picked cotton as a child. He is white, and picked alongside white and black people. It was part of their life and I wish this mural and all the others this artist painted could remain where they are.

• Chester, Illinois: "Loading the Packet," by Fay E. Davis (1940). Ms. Davis received three commissions to paint murals at post offices, including "Loading the Packet"; "Cutting Timber" in Ligonier, Indiana; and "The Illini and Potawatomies Struggle at Starved Rock," in Oglesby, Illinois.
  
  The Chester mural "portrays the daily lives of citizens during the peak of riverboat travel—children playing, families talking and dockworkers loading boats. It was cherished by the community as reflective of their heritage, with the postmaster once saying if the building caught fire, the mural rather than the mail should be saved."
  
  Interestingly enough, this is not the first time one of Ms. Davis's post office murals has met with controversy and was covered up:
  

  In 1942, Davis's second Illinois mural, The Illini and Potawatomies Struggle at Starved Rock, was installed in the post office at Oglesby. She had won the commission to paint the mural the previous year and made several trips to Starved Rock State Park to prepare the painting, which features 14 Native Americans in battle. Some of the fighters are on horseback and others are on foot. Painted in muted earth tones, the painting faded badly and was restored in 1988. In 1993, the mural came back into the news when a janitor at the post office claimed the nudity of the figures rendered the scene pornographic and filed a union grievance; while his complaint was being reviewed, the painting was shielded from the public by blinds. After a petition drive by local citizens to remove the blinds, the mural was uncovered and back on public display. Post office employees reported that the controversy had elevated the number of people who came to see the painting.

• Anchorage, Kentucky branch post office: "Meeting the Train," by Loren R. Fisher (1942). There are few non-paywalled resources about this mural or artist available, though the Louisville Courier-Journal has written at least two items about them: (Feb. 6, 2000:) "A nostalgic 1942 mural of "Meeting the Train" at the Anchorage post office by Loren Fisher reflects the early 20th-century reality..." and (Sept. 13, 1942:) "Loren R. Fisher has gone to an Army induction center in Indiana after a deferment to permit completion of his mural for the Anchorage, Ky., postoffice."
• Jeanerette, Louisiana: "Sugar Cane Mill," by Hollis Holbrook (1941). Lafayette, Louisiana's KLFY reported on local objections to this mural in early July.
  
  While the image might appear startling, Richard B. Megraw, in his 1990 dissertation "The Uneasiest State: Art, Culture, and Society in New Deal Louisiana, 1933-1943," describes the intent of the artist:
  

  Blacks also received sympathetic treatment in the hands of Hollis Holbrook, a Florida artist awarded the post office commission for Jeanerette, Louisiana. ... Shortly after receiving his commission, the artist contacted the Jeanerette postmaster, who recommended a sketch of an antebellum scene with all the trimmings. Holbrook complied. In his preliminary sketch the obligatory "Big House," a mansion modelled on the postmaster's home, dominates the scene. A fine carriage passes beneath the vigil of a tingioned mammy, her bundle of washing balanced upon her head... But Holbrook grew uneasy with this sentimentalized glimpse into the southern past, so he made a second sketch. His concern for the plight of minorities in American society, evident in the mural he completed for the Natick, Massachusetts post office*, resurfaced in his second sketch, ultimately the design for Jeanerette. While the Natick mural suggested the eclipse of the Indians by the arrival of the white man, the Jeanerette decoration depicted the plight of southern blacks, whose treadmill existence Holbrook paralleled with mules, the other southern beasts of burden. Backs bend pathetically under the strain. In this, the most sensitive portrait of black life completed in Louisiana, broken cane stalks fall from the grinder in a powerful and unmistakable reflection of the workers' lives played out in the shadow of the big house.

  (* Natick's post office mural, also a subject of recent controversy, was noted above in the discussion pertaining to "American Indian themed mural subject[s].")
• Catonsville, Maryland branch post office: "Incidents in the History of Catonsville," by Avery Johnson (1942). One of several works created by the artist for post offices, this mural's unusually shaped canvas was created specifically for the site, encompassing five windows as it wraps around three of the walls of the post office lobby.
• Medford, Massachusetts branch post office: "Golden Triangle of Trade," by Henry Billings (1939). Billings was responsible for murals at four post offices, including at Lake Placid, New York; one of the "FDR post offices"—Wappingers Falls, New York; and Columbia, Tennessee.
  
  The work has faced perennial calls for removal. According to the Medford Historical Society newsletter, fall 2011: “It was dedicated in 1939 and by the 1960s was covered up by wood panels. In 1993, it was restored and cleaned, and in 1999, an unsuccessful campaign was ignited to get the mural taken down due to its subject matter.”
  
  An attempt to contextualize the work was approved by FPO Delahaye in 2016, based on "input from the Medford Historical Society," and placed in a frame nearby:
  

  The three-panel mural celebrates two of Medford's earliest industries—shipbuilding and distilling rum. In the early 1800s, Massachusetts led the nation in rum production. Rum was made from molasses imported from the West Indies. The mural's title reders to the historical exchange of goods and enslaved Africans. Billings depicted a similar triangle. On the right is a West Indies sugar cane press. The center panel features a slave laborer hauling sugar cane in the West Indies. His open shackles attempt to show how enslaved people were freed in the North, but their presence reminds us of the history of the slave trade. Public art funded by the Federal Arts Project* was informed by many artistic movements in the 1930s and thus, the "Golden Triangle of Trade" should be seen as a modern New York's commission of local mural art at the height of its popularity.

  [* As noted previously, while often mistaken for WPA artwork, the WPA's Federal Art Project was not involved with the creation of artwork for Federal buildings..]
  
  Multiple organizations have recently taken up the mantle seeking the work's removal, including Delta Diversity Medford, whose mission statement is "[t]o elevate awareness and bring racial justice and education into public art, history, and culture throughout Medford."
  
  Emails obtained via FOIA reveal that the office of Congresswoman Katherine Clark (MA-05) has contacted USPS seeking the removal and relocation of "Golden Triangle of Trade," going so far as to seek the modification of USPS policy if needed to do so.
• Hazlehurst, Mississippi: "Life in the Mississippi Cotton Belt," by Auriel Bessemer (1939). Auriel Bessemer created murals for three post offices, including Winnsboro, South Carolina and Arlington, Virginia—a notable seven-panel work.
• Newton, Mississippi: "Economic Life in Newton in Early 40's," by Mary and Frank Boggs (1942). The Evening News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reported on June 26, 1941:
  

  MARY ROSS BOGGS of Knoxville, Tenn., ... and her husband, Franklin Boggs, have received a prize of $1000 for having painted the best mural for the new post office building at Newton M[i]ss. They competed against hundreds of other American artists. Mrs. Boggs also won another National competition for murals just before her marriage in the Christmas holidays.

• Tylertown, Mississippi: "Rural Mississippi—From Early Days to Present," by Lucile Blanch (1941). Unlike most post office murals from this era, which were painted on canvases affixed to the wall, this work is "actually a fresco painted directly onto the wall," and as such cannot be physically removed. Blanch was "one of the few artists who actually painted the mural in the same town for which the work was commissioned. She took great pleasure in talking to townsfolk about the progress of the painting, and they, in turn, enjoyed seeing places they knew develop in the work" (Deborah Purnell, 2004).
• Rhinebeck, New York: [scenes of local history], by Olin Dows (1940). As discussed on Postlandia's post, "A Stamp Issue to Make FDR Proud," posted in March 2017:
  

  Dutchess County is home to the five 'FDR Post Offices': Beacon, Wappingers Falls, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, and Rhinebeck. Each of the five distinctive post offices was constructed during FDR's presidency, and FDR himself had a hand in the design of each. Each was built with locally quarried stone and each possesses sizable or otherwise distinctive works of New Deal artwork inside. (Beacon, Hyde Park, and Rhinebeck house full lobby-wraparound murals; Wappingers Falls has two triangular murals painted directly on walnut wood, and Poughkeepsie's houses five large murals on two stories.) In each case the New Deal artwork displays aspect of the community's heritage. The art was created and installed in public buildings so to be accessible to all people. Four of the five post offices (all but Beacon) were designed after historic buildings in each community. Poughkeepsie's post office— the "Grand Palace"—was designed to emulate the former courthouse in the city in which New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution, in 1788. Collectively the five FDR post offices in Dutchess County are among the finest and most concentrated collection of New Deal post offices in the country.

  Dows's mural wraps around the entirety of the remarkable, wood-paneled lobby. As of 2014 the post office even offered a guide to the murals' 12 panels. Descriptions are posted by each panel. The panels depict scenes from the history of Rhinebeck from 1686 to 1940.
  
  New York Heritage Digital Collections presents images and artist's sketches from the time of the work's creation. Examples include Panel 3: "1728. Henry Beekman, 2nd, now forty and a Colonel, receives the midsummer's quit rent on his lawn, while four-year old daughter Margaret looks on," Panel 8: "Sunday morning before Dutch Reformed Church service," and Panel 9: "1865. A local family in Winter's Express is moving out West."
  
  It is the image of a kneeling figure in the 1780's scene depicted in Panel 6b: "General Richard Montgomery and his wife, Janet Livingston, plant locust seedlings on what will become the lawn of "Grasmere"," along with the depiction of three enslaved Black men loading the steamboat "Clermont" in Panel 8, that led Laura Lennox Kufner to declare the work an "Ode to White Mastery" in an opinion piece published July 8th. New York Heritage Digital Collections describes the context for the former scene:
  

  Notice Dows's inclusion of a black slave laborer in lower right corner. Slavery officially persisted in New York State until 1799. After 1799, any child born in New York State to a slave woman would be deemed free according to the 1799 Gradual Emancipation Bill, but would be required to serve his/her mother's master as an indentured servant until the age of 21, pending general emancipation in 1827. Children born to slave mothers on or before July 3rd, 1827 could legally be held as indentured servants until 1848.

  It is unclear whether concerns about these depictions are directly related to the mural's covering; however, local sources tell Postlandia that it is USPS's intention to cover not just Panels 6 and 8, but the entirety of the 12-panel mural.
• Louisburg, North Carolina: "Tobacco Auction," by Richard Kenah (1939). The artist "completed three post office murals: one in Bridgeport, Ohio, across the river from Wheeling; one in Bluefield, W.Va., built around a coal mining theme, and one in Louisburg, N.C., that focuses on a tobacco auction," wrote Christopher Kenah as part of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from 2003.
  
  A recent petition to have the mural removed garnered more than 300 signatures. Creator Shardae Vines asserts:

  This painting depicts white farmers buying and selling tobacco in an auction and shows African American men working without shirts and shoes. This is just one more unnecessary reminder of the inhumane conditions our African American ancestors were subjected to in an effort to survive economically all while building the wealth of this nation.

• Virginia Beach, VA: Princess Anne Station post office: "Old Dominion Conversation Piece," by John H.R. Pickett (1939). The historic post office building that had housed this artwork was sold by USPS and demolished a decade ago, and the mural underwent eight months of restoration prior to its installation at the Princess Anne post office. [Update, Sept. 4: A Twitter post presented to Postlandia shows the mural covered, in part, by a USPS banner. The image was taken July 4th, prior to the known beginnings of this initiative.] The following contextualizing text was posted in a display next to the mural:
  

  Over the next six months, Pickett submitted pencil sketches of his mural theme and exchanged letters with the Section committee as suggestions and changes “for improvement” were made.
  
  The initial design Pickett submitted included the first ships to arrive in Virginia — the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery — as well as Neptune in the mural’s foreground. The Section did not find this to be a satisfactory design.
  
  In the design that was ultimately selected, suggestions included authenticating the type of boat, changing its scale in the mural, improving the drawing of what were considered important female figures, and clothing the female Indian. The artist also submitted a color sketch in the scale of two inches to the foot for approval. ...
  
  Pickett’s description of the design separated it into three aspects:
  
  The center portion showed the arrival of the first women at Jamestown — tobacco brides — whose arrival assured the permanency of the settlement. They are shown with “evidences of the beginning of the American home.”
  
  The left portion showed a cavalier, the growing tobacco, slaves rolling a tobacco hogshead, and an Indian squaw watching the arrival of the first white women.
  
  In the right background, Pickett included the weighing of the tobacco which paid for the passage of the women.

  When the author visited and photographed the artwork and installation last autumn, a couple approached him out of concern that his interest in the mural was negative. The ensuing discussion revealed that they were vehemently opposed to removing or covering the mural, should it endure complaints regarding controversial content.

The author invites journalists interested in pursuing this story to contact him for access to the FOIA response cited in this article. Thank you—Evan K.

Beautiful Post Office: Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque holds a special place in history: It is, per its website, "Iowa's oldest city and is among the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River. The first permanent settler to the area was French-Canadian fur trader Julien Dubuque." The region contained rich deposits of lead, and Mr. Dubuque worked with the native Mesquakie to mine it until the time of his death in 1810. Dubuque is also home of what was the first post office in Iowa! Per The Annals of Iowa: "The postal system in Iowa dates from 1833 the first postoffice being established in Dubuque (then called Dubuque's Mines) on May 27th." The City of Dubuque was chartered in 1837 and has had a post office by that name since that time (replacing the Dubuque's Mines P.O.). By 1837 two dozen post offices had been established in the territory, and by the time of Iowa's 1846 statehood there were dozens throughout the territory.

A great early history of the Dubuque post office, particularly during its early years, can be found at Encyclopedia Dubuque!

First, let's have a look at the former Custom House and Post Office building. Long gone, it was located at W 9th Street and Locust Streets. This image was taken ca. 1902:



Here is the current post office as of last year:


Dubuque's current post office is stately, located at West 6th Street across from Washington Park. I'll let Wikipedia tell the tale:

As Dubuque expanded during the 1920s, the post office was not large enough to handle the increasing volume of mail. Rather than enlarge the existing building, city officials decided to construct a new post office. Congressman Thomas J. B. Robinson led the effort to secure a more appropriate postal facility. Officials determined that the new building would function as both a post office and courthouse, and the building continues to serve these purposes today [author's note: I find no direct evidence that the courtroom is still in use by the Northern District of Iowa; the building does, however, serve other Federal functions].

The building was constructed with funding from the 1926 Public Buildings Act, in which Congress appropriated substantial resources for Federal buildings throughout the United States. Dubuque received approximately $650,000 for site acquisition and construction costs. Renowned city planner John Nolen intended for the building to be part of his civic design, "Administrative Center at Washington Park," which he developed in 1931. City officials hoped to construct a city hall, courthouse, and park adjacent to the post office, but these plans were never realized.

The Courthouse was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect under James A. Wetmore, who received input from Iowa architects. Among the local designers was the office of Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas, a highly respected Des Moines firm. This venerable firm (including earlier variations of the founding office) had a long of history of designing high-profile public buildings in Iowa, including the Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines and buildings for Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. Although little is known about the Dubuque architect involved in the project, Herbert Kennison, he likely served as an onsite consultant and provided the valued contribution of a designer who was also a local resident.

The building's cornerstone was laid in 1932, and a dedication ceremony was held the following year. The building was occupied in early 1934. In 1985, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource within the Cathedral Historic District, which encompasses historically significant residences and public buildings.

Building cornerstone:


Beyond the fact that the structure was built by Chiabi & Garriup Construction Co., Wikipedia actually seems a more reliable source than the National Register of Historic Places nomination form that includes this federal building, which wrongfully states that the building was built in 1930; was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)—which wasn't around at the time of its construction; and featured artwork by just one artist. A URL on the GSA cited by Wikipedia is no longer valid, so let's continue our discussion of the two Treasury Section (New Deal) murals with the Wiki text!

The interior features ... important murals in the lobby vestibule. The murals were funded with $2,000 of the original money allotted for construction of the building. Although a competition to select an artist was held, officials intended to select Grant Wood, the famous Iowa painter of "American Gothic," to complete the murals. When Wood did not enter the competition, William E. L. Bunn was selected. The selection was subsequently overturned in favor of a painter named Bertrand Adams. As a compromise, both Bunn and Adams, who each studied and worked with Wood and were friends from the University of Iowa, were allowed to paint murals. Adams painted "Early Settlers of Dubuque" in 1936 and 1937. The painting depicts several symbols of the city's pioneering days, such as the Julien Dubuque Monument and the Mesquakie Native American village. Adams also represented impending industrialization by painting the Dubuque Shot Tower and a bridge. Bunn painted "Early Mississippi Packet 'Dubuque III'" (also referred to as "Early Mississippi Steamboats") at the same time. His mural illustrates life in Dubuque in 1870, when steamboats were a primary method of transportation in the Midwest. The two murals show a harmony of scale and color use.

Bertrand Adams: "Early Settlers of Dubuque"


William E.L. Bund: "Early Mississippi Steamboats"


I am totally digging those radiator grilles at the bottom; aren't you?

Postlandia bonus: Compare the final artwork with an initial "cartoon" by the artist! (Note: The perspective on the modern image is a bit warped, and thus not exactly to vertical scale.)



My favorite part of the vestibule is the plaque describing the murals; specifically:


Imagine that.

Star Billings: Big Sky, Big Post Office

Montana is MT! Rather literally. (Emp-ty. Get it? Okay, pun quota met for the post.) But that doesn't mean it doesn't have some sizable, historic post offices.

I've enjoyed processing original images from the National Archives for Montana post offices. Several were undated and required additional research. In several cases: Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls, the Post Mark Collectors Club (PMCC) has been able to compile multiple images of the building as it expands and develops over a span of decades. (You can read more about the PMCC's unparalleled collection of post office photographs—presently at 27,000 and counting—here.) In this entry we'll review the historic post office building in Billings, Montana's largest city.

Billings, Montana—now Downtown Station post office

I wanted to discuss this post office because more than one historic image of this building online is mis-dated. For instance, this illustrative image on Wikipedia, "ca. 1914", could not have been taken prior to 1932. (In fact, it is the image you will see below, dated "ca. 1932".) This is because the building, while originally built between 1913 and 1914, was noticeably expanded twice in subsequent decades.

First, a cornerstone image, taken 2012:


When originally completed the building had one-story side "wings". The building's National Register of Historic Places nomination form explains: "The present building has been twice altered. In 1932, the original single story wings flanking the central section were extended to three stories and the building was expanded to the rear (doubling the original side dimensions). The front and north facades remain unaltered from this addition. In 1940, an addition was made to the rear central and southern portions of the building."

You can see the difference given these images below:

This early (ca. 1914-1930) image appears on a postcard that is actually presently for sale at CardCow for an absurdly expensive price—thank goodness for fair use:


This image, which can be found at the National Archives, as taken post-first extension ca. 1932:


NRHP documentation featured three photos taken in 1984. I like the era-specific USPS logo/sign affixed to the building, though I'm definitely glad it's gone now:



Finally, here's a view with updated signage from 2012:



This is one of the few post offices in Montana to have received F.D.R.-era New Deal artwork. This would have been completed in conjunction with the building's 1940 extension. NRHP:

"The post office also contains a mural at the east end of the original lobby (presently separated from lobby by glass partition). The mural, entitled "Trailing Cattle", was completed in 1942 by Leo Beaulaurier for a sum of $800. As suggested by the title, the mural depicts a drover and cattle herd stretching across the Montana landscape.

Leo Beaulaurier was in Great Falls, Montana in 1911 and studied at the Los Angeles Art Center. Beaulaurier also completed a mural in the Langdon, N.D. Post Office in 1939. He is listed in the Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West (Samuels, 1976) and is deceased (February 11, 1983 in Great Falls.)"

The work is tricky to photograph. It is found in the left end of the lobby, behind a rather reflective glass enclosure, which bars the layperson from accessing the rest of the facility. Here's my attempt at a clean photo from 2012:



As in countless other cities, mail processing operations have since relocated to a newer facility away from downtown.

I enjoyed this passage, again, from the NRHP:

The new post office was dedicated on Flag Day, June 14, 1914, and was reported in the Gazette on June 16th. A parade including Billings police, the Billings band, Boy Scouts, and many others preceded the dedication ceremony. Postmaster T.C. Armitage presided and was accompanied by Mayor Leavens, the county commissioners, and various other local dignitaries. An address by Reverend Walter H. North expressed the symbolic importance of the new building and the following excerpts were reported:

It is a substantial monument of the government's faith in us. This is no boom town building. The government is a business institution which is represented in our life. It is a beautiful building. The city shall never have occasion to apologize for it. It stands as a monument of beauty and character as well as a building of strength.

In the days to come when the taller temples, which shall be erected upon these adjacent corners and opposite lots, dedicated to trade and society and religion, shall overtower it, this building will continue to be the pride and satisfaction of the people because it is our federal building, as good as the best and as beautiful as the most attractive.

It is our building. Ours to use. It is designed for the service and the convenience of the people. Here are to be housed those who life of the country. Here are to be the officers of the nation whose presence is the pledge of the interest of the nation in our territory which lies all about us. It is ours because we are part of the government.

Imagine that.

When we return to Montana: Missoula and Great Falls.

This is Sparta!! (And Milledgeville, Georgia)

Milledgeville and Sparta, Georgia are two county seats respectively located 50 and 30 miles northeast of Macon. They also have two similar post office / Federal Buildings from the 1960s I thought would be interesting to show.

Almost nothing about this building says "post office." I drove clear past it once, even knowing exactly where it was supposed to be. A modest etching in marble, "Federal Building," resides above the front door, and there's a snorkel mailbox in front. Aside from that and a cornerstone concealed by bushes at the left corner of the building, you'd barely know what this building is.

Sparta, GA: Yvonne Ingram-Ephraim Post Office Building


Sparta Federal Building: 1962 John F. Kennedy cornerstone


Long-time readers of this blog might know I'm really not a fan of cookie-cutter '60s federal buildings, but Sparta's and Milledgeville's were a bit different. First, they assimilate some vernacular architecture stylings from the romantic Deep South. Second, they actually have artwork inside, a throwback to FDR's New Deal and my favorite era of postal architecture, the grand buildings from the early 20th century. Also, nice black marble!

Sparta, GA Federal Building mural


Milledgeville, GA: United States Post Office and Federal Building


Milledgeville Federal Building: 1960 Dwight D. Eisenhower cornerstone


Milledgeville, GA Federal Building murals


The old post office building in Milledgeville was built during the early 20th century, and now houses the local Chamber of Commerce.

Milledgeville, GA: old post office

Hometown Post Office: Renovo, PA

First, welcome to first entry posted to this blog under our new name, Postlandia, and a simpler URL. Hope you like the modest changes!

Residents of the historic community of Renovo, Pennsylvania are proud of their New Deal post office. Renovo is a comparatively remote community in Clinton County. A town built by the railroad, it is nestled along a stretch of the west branch of the Susquehanna River. The town straddles the river along with twin South Renovo. Most of the community's development lies in the wide, three-block-deep grid of roads that was established during the 1860s. The community's present population is about 1,200.

To get some more of our bearings, let's go to the map! Note the comparative distances of Renovo from Erie, in the northwest corner of the state, and Philadelphia in the southeast.



Former resident William Conti, a former resident, writes: "Renovo was built and incorporated as a railroad town by the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, halfway between the two cities where their extensive Shops were constructed for building and repair of locomotives and other railroad functions."

A post office was established in what is now Renovo in 1851; however the town (and post office) were not so-named until 1863. The first post office, with Michael Stout as the first postmaster, was known as Drury’s Run.

Renovo's present post office was constructed toward the tail end of the New Deal. USPS's Owned Facilities Report lists the site occupation date as June 1941. (Most New Deal facilities were dedicated during the 1930s.) Conti notes that the building was designed in traditional "Colonial" style.

Thank you to Bill for providing multiple great images of the building. Here are a couple of views, old and new.

Renovo, PA post office:




[If you're like me and just happened to wonder where the wheelchair ramp is, some grainy Google Street View imagery suggests that it's located on the far (left) side of the building, with an entrance created only recently.]

The historic building houses an example of New Deal artwork. Harold Lehman was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and his oil-on-canvas mural, "Locomotive Repair Operation," was completed in 1943. It was one of the last works of art to be installed in our nation's post offices; funds that had been dedicated to FDR's New Deal efforts were put toward the growing war effort.

The mural depicts Renovo's hometown industry, and has a couple of fascinating facets visible to the trained eye. Watch Senior Curator at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg discuss the mural, at an exhibit dedicated to statewide New Deal post office artwork, here:



Thanks to Bill to supplying for a couple of great photos of the mural at the Renovo post office:


The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has posted a great webpage dedicated to the state's New Deal postal art legacy here.

Wait, Where? Jersey Shore, PA

Traveling deep in the Appalachian Mountains along Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania you might be surprised to see the destination accessible by taking exit 192:



Yep, it's the Jersey Shore! Well, not the Snooki type. It's the town of Jersey Shore in rural Pennsylvania. Though interestingly enough, the name was just insulting to the Garden State 200 years ago as the TV show of the same name is to present-day dignity. Here's the situation (pun intended), courtesy http://www.usgennet.org/:

The first settler, Reuben Manning, ... was the uncle of Forster, who at that time owned and occupied Long Island, in the river opposite these surveys. They were both from Essex county, New Jersey, and from the part known at that day as the "Jersey Shore." As the settlement grow it came to be called "Jersey Shore," because Manning and Forster were Jerseymen. At first the name was applied in derision by the Irish settlers in Nippenose bottom, across the river. The place was named Waynesburg in 1805, but the title, "Jersey Shore," had obtained such notoriety that it prevailed, and when the act incorporating the borough was passed it distinctly said that the place "shall be called and styled the borough of Jersey Shore." That legalized it, and by that title it has been known to the present day.

Jersey Shore has had a post office since 1805. Today the community (pop. 4,300) has a pleasant Main Street. This article on nj.com describes more of the daily life around town.

The current post office resides downtown and has been in service since 1960. Here is the Jersey Shore post office in 2012:



A modern mural depicting some historic buildings in the community is painted at one end of the lobby:



It was interesting to research the meaning of the central inscription: "The Land of the Tiadaghton Elm." As the Williamsport Sun-Gazette explains: "The Tiadaghton Elm Ceremony is celebrated because the Fair Play Men, who were settlers that moved out of the Philadelphia area to the Jersey Shore area, decided they wanted to be free from Britain's rule and signed their own Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, without knowledge that the Continental Congress was creating its own Declaration of Independence." You can find out more about the Fair Play MEn settlers here. 'Til next time!

Postal Tour: Merced, California

The city of Merced lies in the San Joaquin Valley, along Highway 99 in central California. Merced prides itself as being the gateway to Yosemite National Park, which is accessible by California State Route 140. The city's population is presently about 80,000. Downtown maintains much of its character while development has sprawled to the north. This growth is reflected in the location of postal units in the community.

Here are maps of Merced within central California as well as a postal map of the community.





The Federal Building in Merced, managed by the General Services Adminstration (GSA), formerly served as the main post office for the city. Fortunately the GSA publishes information about the historic buildings it manages, and has this to say about the architecture what now houses the T. V. Bell Station post office in addition to a few federal offices.

The Merced Federal Building and Post Office is an example of academic Classisism, tempered by a more vernacular Mediterranean influence. It is classical in the bilateral symmetry of its facades and its reliance on the Classical hierarchy of base, shaft, and capital in its vertical organization. Classical decorative elements include the round-headed arches, surrounded by voussoirs, molded terra cotta panels with swag motifs below the principal windows, and a cornice with terra cotta modillions surrounding the main body of the structure. Other, more vernacular, Mediterranean influences include the "Mission" clay tile hipped foor over the main portion of the building, the plain stucco wall surfaces, and relative simplicity of the facades' organization.

It might help to see the building:

Merced, CA: Federal Building / T. V. Bell Station post office




From this interior view you can see one of the two New Deal-sponsored tempera paintings which hang in opposite ends of the building's lobby. The murals (information courtesy WPAMurals.com) are "Early Settlers" by Helen Forbes and "Vacheros" by Dorothy Puccinelli. Both were painted in 1937.

"Early Settlers":


"Vacheros":


This is also reputedly the first post office to be named by act of Congress after a postal employee. Thomas V. Bell served as a postal employee in Merced for nearly 50 years, serving as Acting Postmaster from June 30, 1964 to the end of 1965.

(Another post office to be renamed by Congress in honor of a postal employee is the Robert Wayne Jenkins (formerly Southside) Station post office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Jenkins was shot during the course of his carrier duties on Dec. 21, 2001. Representative John Sullivan sponsored the legislation; more details here.)

The then-Post Office Department transferred custody of the Federal Building in Merced to the GSA upon completion of its new Main Post Office facility, 0.6 miles away, in 1965.

Merced, CA: Main Post Office:


Development to the north of downtown necessitated the establishment of an additional postal outlet. Currently the area is served by a Contract Postal Unit (CPU) at a Raley's supermarket. Many of the regional chain's 139 stores house CPUs.

Merced, CA: Raley's CPU:


'Til next time!

Post Offices of the Firelands

While volunteering at the PMCC [Postmark] Museum in north central Ohio a year and a half ago, I took a day off to explore some of the region's POs. In doing so I was able to learn about a little facet of history known by a few. In visiting 26 towns' POs I noticed that many of the names looked very familiar: New Haven; New London; North Fairfield; Greenwich. Norwalk lies to the northwest. Each of those is a prominent town in Connecticut. Here's a map of the region of Ohio in question:



Now, I'd been meaning to write about this connection for a year, but I wanted to be able to present the perfect map that demonstrates why this is the case. In September I stopped in the library after visiting the post office in Rocky Hill, NJ, and walked right into a massive wall map depicting exactly what I was looking for:



(Don't you love it when that happens?)

The land in question is what was known as Connecticut's Western Reserve (see also: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland), a great history of which can be found on the Thompson, Ohio Township website. Connecticut lay claim to these areas through and west of Ohio as part of its 1662 charter, which, by the King of England, granted the colony "land claims to the colonies westward to the mythical 'South Sea.'"

During the Revolutionary War, the British burned many Connecticut settlements to the ground -- including Fairfield, as detailed in this article by the Fairfield Citizen -- in retaliation for local colonists' supporting American independence. "In 1792," the Thompson, OH website notes, "the Connecticut legislature granted 500,000 acres of the western portion of New Connecticut to those of her citizens whose property had been burned by the British during the war. These lands were called the 'Fire Lands.'" And that's why so many of its towns bear the same names as Connecticut cities.

So: Let's see some post offices!

New Haven, Ohio post office:


The most fun part of this stop was meeting the friendly Postmaster and getting his autograph -- which, when I first saw, made me do a double take. USPS's Postmaster Finder confirms that I did, indeed, meet James Bond: Postmaster!

North Fairfield, Ohio post office:

I'm actually not sure whether or not that is a town office in the back.

Greenwich, Ohio post office:

Very photogenic -- love the setting, the gorgeous stenciling on the window, and the bunting.

New London, Ohio post office:


A WPA post office with a wonderfully, fantastically unique mural inside. It was an ABSTRACT mural painted in 1940. Have you ever seen such a thing? WPAMurals.com has the details:
New London Facets by Lloyd R. Ney.
Oil on canvas, 5 3/4 x 14 feet, 1940.
"The abstract style employed by Pennsylvania artist Lloyd Ney for his New London mural was unique among Ohio post offices. This was apparently not the result of any inherent dislike of abstract art by Ohioans, but rather from aesthetic prejudice within the Treasury Department's fine arts section. Only with the help of leading New Londoners was the artist able to convince administrators to approve his original proposal."

The mural, which appears to be relatively recently restored, was presented on PMCC member jimmywayne's Flickr photostream. (Jimmy is another PMCC member who's been to a lot of post offices.)



And this is why visiting post offices is so enjoyable.

Postal Tour: Plainfield, NJ

You won't be seeing three of these places for long, I'm rather certain. Catch 'em while you can!

What you'll see below is a rather dense amalgam of post offices, each of which has historically served the Plainfield area for decades. There's a reason these locations exist to begin with. So what some might see as postal excess could also be viewed as providing astounding service to the residents of the Plainfield area -- something all organizations strive to provide its customers with in the best of times, and an aim the Postal Business Service should be striving for to maintain its customers in densely populated areas during these lean days.

So once we get a geographic fix, let's look at each of the post offices in the area and see if we can figure out why they're here and who they serve. I'll provide a first-hand account of my early-Friday afternoon visit to each of these locations. Afterwards we'll play a game I like to call "Guess which of these places actually served the most people while I was there!" The results will be enlightening, I'm sure.

Red: RAOI "Hit-Listed"; black: safe for the time being.

Plainfield, NJ: Main Post Office
A post office has served Plainfield since 1800. (USPS's Postmaster Finder tool corroborates this information.) Here is the view along the present building's Watchung Ave. length:


So when was this built? EBay features a postcard showing the "New" Plainfield Post Office, an item which dates back to World War I. It was mailed from Plainfield in late 1916, so it's reasonable to deduce that the building was constructed in 1915-6. The card, below:


The building still has old-style P.O. boxes (with the see-through windows) and features two murals, which one can be rather certain date to the Depression. The murals occupy either side of the main lobby, and one spans the entire wall above its PO Boxes. [Note: While I would love to share with you this glorious artwork, I request permission to take photographs of murals on the grounds that they are for my personal collection. USPS lawyers can actually get rather prickly about publishing them on copyright grounds. I do tempt fate an awful lot, but...]

On the commercially dense surrounding streets, all parking is metered. The post office maintains no customer parking lot. This is a reason that many of the area's poorer residents would prefer not to travel to this location, even if it's only a mile from their homes.

The Postmaster operates out of this Plainfield Main Post Office, and is responsible for all five other branches and stations detailed below (as well as its Warren Branch, which I haven't yet visited).

On the Hit List: North Plainfield, NJ Branch post office


I'd say this will most certainly be closed due to proximity to the Plainfield MPO [see map above.] A fine reason to be sure, but there are counterarguments all the same.

First off, why is there a post office here? For one thing, North Plainfield is not in the same county as Plainfield -- it is over in Somerset County, whereas Plainfield resides in Union County. So you're in a different county, with different governance... why wouldn't you have your own post office? The 2.8 square miles of the borough of North Plainfield house 21,000 people.

The borough of North Plainfield is concerned about losing its identity with the closure of its postal branch. Hence this message regarding USPS's already-held North Plainfield community meeting, on the borough's official website: "All North Plainfielders are URGED TO ATTEND! YOUR OPINION IS ESSENTIAL SO THAT THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE CAN DETERMINE HOW IMPORTANT THIS BRANCH IS TO OUR TOWN!"

It is likely that this post office would not be on the chopping block if USPS hadn't substantially shortened its hours. Currently the office is open from 12-4; anyone seeking to conduct postal business in the morning must head over to the Plainfield Main Post Office or to neighboring towns' facilities to the west. A sign detailing the office's current hours obscures what used to be: 9:00 - 4:30. A location that's designed to fail?

It's a one-clerk operation, for the record. And when I was there a customer purchased $44 in stamps. So: all told, deduce financially what you will.

Watchung, NJ Branch post office


"Well, if North Plainfield residents really want to stay in the same county, can't they go to the Watchung post office?? It's only a mile away!"

Actually... Route 22 is pretty good at precluding that kind of thing -- at least if they'd prefer to walk. It's a bit bizarre:


So, what we've got in Watchung is another four-hour office, though one that seems to have escaped RAOI. USPSEverywhere shows more than five retail access points within two miles (in the form of either full-service post offices or other random locations that sell stamps, which you're somehow expected to know about), so I'm guessing it's safe because it somehow rakes in over $600,000 a year despite its limited hours.

(Once again, if you're inside the office you can see behind the current hours of operation sign; the office USED to be open 8:30 - 4:30, instead of its present 11:00 - 3:00. Yet it still rakes in the dough; so why not offer full hours?)

On the Hit List: Plainfield, NJ: Muhlenberg Station post office


An office on a residential street, in a generally poor area, that was being HIGHLY used by locals when I was there. During the 12-or-so minutes I was there, SIX postal transactions occurred, not including my own.

The hours of this location are 10:00 - 4:00.

I briefly interviewed one limited-mobility resident -- who requires a cane to walk and who does so very slowly -- as she was leaving the post office (and yes, I held the door open for her!); she says that closure of the Muhlenberg Station would be a hardship for her because she lives right down the block. She can't drive. So even at a mere mile away, the Plainfield MPO is a prohibitive trek.

On the Hit List: Plainfield, NJ: Netherwood Station post office


Plainfield's stations and branches serve the residents who live outside the city's center -- generally one in each direction. You've got North Plainfield and Watchung to the (gee) north[west]; Muhlenberg to the south[east]; Station A (to be discussed) to the [south]west; and Netherwood to the [north]east. Plainfield has 50,000 residents -- not including North Plainfield and Watchung -- a healthy business district (served by the MPO), and residents in all directions. So it's really not all that unreasonable to be providing service all around.

Netherwood, another 10-4 office, is one more that doesn't seem to make USPS's new revenue cut -- which, once again, amounts to $600,000 a year in the urban instance. Which isn't to say it's unused; I'll reveal the customer number later.

Plainfield, NJ: Station A


The customer in front of me complimented the clerk of this Clinton Ave. post office for her polite manner. I asked her if that's a common occurrence, to which she replied that she enjoys serving her customers well. A good attitude to have, wouldn't you say? I hope that USPS's RAOI-instituting Upper-Upper Management takes that to heart.

The Grand Finale: How many customers were served by each post office during the author's time there [waiting in line, chatting, taking a photo outside]? Counts include customers served before me and/or after me, and do not include those picking up their PO Box mail. It's all to the best of my memory, of course.

Muhlenberg Station: 6 [~12 minutes]
Watchung Branch: 4 [~10 minutes]
Plainfield MPO: 3 [~12 minutes]
North Plainfield Branch: 2 + 1 entering [~7 minutes] -- includes a $44 stamp purchase
Station A: 2 [~7 minutes] -- to be fair, one of the customers was a whole family
Netherwood Station: 1 + 1 entering [~3 minutes]

Hope you enjoyed the tour!