Taste of Salem, OR

So, before I headed off to Hawai'i for two weeks back last March, I visited a friend at Willamette College in Salem, OR and revisited Portland. Driving to Portland was also good prep for renting a car.

Salem I toured one day by bus, visiting all of its stations east of the Willamette River, all of its CPUs, and its DCU. I finished off its branches and West Salem Station while visiting 24 post offices in one day, mostly in the Portland area. So, let's see what we've got:

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Salem, OR: Pringle Park Plaza Station

It was raining the day I set out in Salem. First I visited the Pringle Park Plaza Station, which had, interesting enough, a postmark that said "Pringle Park Station" and "Pringle Plaza Station". That's the post office nearest Willamette College and the Oregon State Capital (a really cool building).

In the drizzle I set off on bus #1 to the Liberty Ave. Station. I got out and caught the same bus on its return run 10 minutes later, transferring to another line to get to the Vista Station. Another bus over to the Salem MPO, where I met a friendly woman (the former philatelic clerk) who offered to mail me back my card with the Postmaster's autograph for my collection.

Now off to the eastern Salem CPUs: Southeast Station, which I got to by walking and got some photos nearby of crews working on power lines; and the Oak Park Station (the subject of another post), next to the Oak Park Lockbox [P.O. Box] Unit, which I got to using yet another bus. The Oak Park CPU had seen another collector six months prior to myself, whom I can only assume is another member of the PMCC.

I then walked two miles to the Hollywood DCU [Detached Carrier Unit], which does indeed have its own cancel. On the way I chatted with a crew that was installing a red light camera system. They explained to me that not only does the camera take photos of your car entering and exiting the intersection from the back, but it also does so from the front, along with video cameras that monitor the driver and speed of the vehicle. There are no excuses when this thing catches you. A ticket in Beaverton, OR could cost $400, and could also entail a moving violation -- two of which negate your license.

Another bus later and I was getting drenched near the Hollywood Station, so I went in and got a sandwich at a newly decorated Subway. The clouds had not left, but diffuse afternoon light enabled some nice photography of the Oregon State Capitol and Salem's flowering cherry trees.

Like I've always said, good things and interesting adventures happen when you Go Postal.

Taking Pity on Google, Part II

Here are some further edits to postal markers the author has made:

Pawcatuck, CT: post office was unlisted. Now it is correctly placed.

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Wakeman, OH: post office was shown to be west of Monroeville; the marker was nearly 20 miles away. It is now properly placed.


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Northeast U.S.: Carrier Annexes

Ever curious where a Carrier Annex is? Wonder no more: every marker point on this map is a new edit / addition [edit-ion?]. This one's not an easy task.

> Some were listed as being full-fledged post offices, which is misleading (Trenton Carrier Annex; Madison, NJ Carrier Annex; Elmsford, NY Carrier Annex).

> Others were the site for carrier and retail operations, but have still split; those listings had still read 'US Post Office' though they are now just carrier facilities: Springfield, NJ Carrier Annex; Brooklyn, NY: Ryder Carrier Annex.

> Still more were just not shown at all, partly because USPS reveals very little information about them and because they aren't open for customer retail operations in any case. Here are some brand-new listings: Guilford/Madison [CT] Carrier Annex; Great Neck [NY] Carrier Annex; Revere [MA] Carrier Annex.

I'm still working on them, so there will be more to come.


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There are many more to fill in to the Boston area; this is a start:


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Youngstown, OH: I removed the listings for the East Side and South Side Stations, which were closed earlier this month and covered in this GP entry.

Taking Pity on Google, Part I

So, not many posts lately. I'll explain. The next paragraph might seem irrelevant, but it leads to the explanation.

Google Maps is rather handy when you're mapping out 25 post offices to visit one day. Unfortunately, from experience, I've found that map placement is not always accurate; some listed post offices have closed; or some aren't even listed! That's likely because, while USPS once provided a full docket of information for Google to use, some addresses are un-mappable and no one has the time to validate all the information. Well that's not cool!

Enter yours truly. I've basically been, shall we say, providing Google with free labor. Over the past two weeks I've taken to Google Map Maker (a really cool tool) to validate post office listings and map placement. Changes show up on Google Maps for searches once they are approved by other users. I've modified about 400 listings. Hopefully they make for a good reference for interested parties -- especially those who want to tour offices like moi! Here are some highlights:

1. The Poconos, PA

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Okay, before I got to them, these listings were PAINFULLY inaccurate. Absolutely no post office within the map parameters above was properly placed. Mountainhome didn't have a listing at all; Canadensis was placed where Cresco is; Cresco needed a new listing. Tobyhanna was listed as being on Rt. 311; it's really off on Main Street. Pocono Manor needed re-placement; its marker is now placed on the lodge that houses it.

In the Scranton area, I removed the listings for Dickson City and Elmhurst.

So now, EVERY post office in that window is spot-on. Although I haven't yet been to Scotrun, so I don't know about that one.

2. Southwestern Massachusetts:

Corrected many mis-placed tags, including that for Mill River, MA.

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3. Queens, NY:

I added a listing for the new Broad Channel CPU.

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JFK's post office and Air Mail Center were hopelessly misplaced; they were shown to be in the passenger terminal when they're really on the outskirts of the airport. Finally, their location is properly shown:


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In short: I really should be getting paid for this.

DPO'd: Valley Falls, RI

The Pawtucket branch post office in Valley Falls, RI lies just 1.2 miles to its nearest companion in Lincoln, RI. Still, it's a shame to see a post office with nice old P.O. boxes and a friendly Clerk-in-Charge disappear. Valley Falls is the historic part of Cumberland, RI. Think old mills. The community is working-class and when I visited the office on Tuesday, residents seemed very disappointed to see their place on the map vanish.

Today, July 8, is Valley Falls's last day. The post office was the only one in Rhode Island that kept its name on the SBOC Consolidation 'Hit List'.

For perspective, here is a map of Valley Falls with respect to Pawtucket, RI and Providence:


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Valley Falls shares a ZIP code with larger Cumberland (post office: 3 miles north); but I was disappointed to see that the signage on the building itself actually does say Cumberland on it, as opposed to Valley Falls:



USPS has a lease on the building for two more years... so of course they're shutting it down now.

Beautiful Post Office: Prides Crossing, MA

For the July 4th weekend I visited my friend in Massachusetts. For Independence Day itself I took the afternoon to visit the post offices of Cape Ann. The fantastic main office and stations of Gloucester, MA, will be covered in another post.

I was especially pleased with two other offices I discovered, one of which I deem among the most photogenic I've seen, with its patriotic bunting. Introducing the post office of the wonderfully named town of Prides Crossing, Massachusetts:



Another post office with a great name and a great sign was Rockport, MA's Pigeon Cove Station:



The post office is about one mile from Rockport's main post office, but served a pleasant and distinct community. Its official address is 165½ Granite St.

The general positions of the communities are highlighted on this map: