Iowa Sites

The post office in Audubon was completed in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Virginia Snedecker's 1942 mural, "Audubon's Trip down the Ohio and Mississippi--1820," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Bloomfield was completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of John Sharp's 1940 mural, "Autumn in Iowa," painted with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Clarion was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Department and with Louis A. Simon as the supervising architect and Neal Melick as the supervising engineer. It is also the site of Paul Faulkner's 1943 mural, "Farm Scene," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Columbus Junction was completed in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Sante Graziani's mural, "Lover's Leap," painted with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

"In September 1937, the Adams County Free Press reported Corning was one of nine towns in the state to receive funds for a new Post Office building as part of a 'seventy million dollar emergency construction fund authorized by Congress' as part of the Works Project Administration. Postmaster A. C. Peterson received information from the United States Treasury on how to proceed in plans for the Post Office, which would be opened for bidding October 4 that year. "The contract was awarded to the Church Company in Kansas City, and construction on the $75,000 building began in early 1938. Prior to...

The historic Corydon post office was constructed ca. 1940 with Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The post office in Cresco was completed in 1935 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Richard Haines's 1937 mural, "Iowa Farming," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the post office lobby.

The post office in Emmetsburg, Iowa was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1939.  A Section of Fine Arts-funded mural entitled "Conservation of Wild Life" is installed in the lobby.

The post office in Forest City was completed in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Orr Fisher's 1941 mural, "Evening on the Farm," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office in Hamburg was completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of William E. L. Bunn's 1941 mural, "Peony Festival at Hamburg," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, a replica of which is viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Harlan was completed in 1935 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Richard Gates's 1937 mural, "Farmer Feeding Industry," completed in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

Constructed as part of a federal works program in 1940.

Constructed in 1938.

The post office in Independence was completed in 1935 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Robert Tabor's 1938 mural, "Postman in Storm," painted for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The historic post office in Knoxville, Iowa was constructed in 1940 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork inside, is still in use today.

Constructed in 1936.

The post office in Manchester was completed in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of William Henning's mural, "Iowa Farm Life," painted in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic Missouri Valley Post Office was constructed with New Deal funds in 1937. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

Built in 1939.

The post office in Mount Pleasant, IA was constructed in 1935.

The post office in New Hampton was completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Thomas Savage's 1939 mural, "Breaking the Colts," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The Onawa, Iowa post office was constructed with Treasury Department funds. "The first post office in the Monona County seat of Onawa was established in 1855 and consisted of a few boxes in the corner of the Fairchild General Store. After locations in a number of local storefronts, bids were opened for a standalone post office building in May 1936. The contract was awarded to the H.W. Underhill Construction Company of Wichita, Kansas, on August 20, 1936. Work was completed at a cost of $49,720 in April 1937." (Iowa Backroads) A New Deal mural entitled "Soil Erosion and Control" was installed in...

Built in 1935.

The post office in Pella was completed in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Byron Ben Boyd's 1938 mural, "Hollanders Settle in Pella," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.   "Over 1,000 residents in the Marion County town of Pella toured the post office on its opening day, April 26, 1937. The Pella Chronicle wrote the $55,000 post office 'fills a long-felt need and it will now be possible to give even better service than before.' The article highlights the spacious lobby, efficient workspace,...

The post office in Rockwell City was completed in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Department with Louis A. Simon as the supervising architect and Neal Melick as the supervising engineer. It is also the site of John Sharp's 1941 mural, "Summer," completed with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Sigourney was completed in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Richard Olsen's 1940 mural, "Indian Harvest," painted with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Tipton was constructed in 1937 with funds provided by the federal Treasury Department. It is also the site of John V. Bloom's 1940 mural, "Cattle," painted for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Waverly was completed in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Department. It is also the site of Mildred W. Pelzer's 1938 mural, "Letter from Home in 1856," with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and viewable in the lobby.

The post office in Winterset, Iowa was constructed with federal funds and opened in 1935. The building is still in use today.

The post office was constructed with Treasury Department funding in 1939. Until 2008, it also contained a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by Dan Rhodes. From Marion Today: "Marion's former post office is also unique in that it has served two other purposes and its mural removed. The painting remained untouched when the building was adapted to become Marion's City Hall at the time of America's bicentennial. In 2006, however, the facility was perceived as too small for the rapidly growing community, and acquired by Merchants National Bank. City Hall moved two blocks away to 6th Avenue." (https://www.mariontoday.org)

Two New Deal murals by Edgar Britton adorn the walls of the Waterloo Public Library (the former post office and federal building). The murals entitled "Exposition" (located on the wall over the Youth Office) and "Holiday" (located in the Fiction Department) were painted in 1940.

Lowell Houser painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "The Evolution of Corn," in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Houser was a local Iowa artist who studied for a number of years in Mexico, where he was taken with Aztec sculptures he encountered in museums there, which accounts for this mural's style. "In an oral history interview with the artist dated July 31, 1964, he discusses the conception and execution of the mural. Houser states that he came up with the concept that the cultivation of corn was historically Maya 'or at least, ancient American...

New Deal mural entitled "Audubon's Trip down the Ohio and Mississippi--1820" painted by Virginia Snedeker in 1942.

John Sharp painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Autumn in Iowa," in 1940 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Bloomfield post office library.

New Deal mural entitled "Farm Scene" was painted by Paul Faulkner in 1943 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

"Titled 'Lover's Leap,' the mural was painted in 1942 by Graziani. It portrays an early gathering that was held to raise funds for the city's swinging bridge. Graziani was influenced by American artists Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry. He once said the three artists were the Holy Trinity of art while he was in school. Kathleen Almelien, art teacher at Columbus Community High School, said the work is a classic example of the type of mural painting popular in the United States in the 1930s and '40s. Many of the artists were funded through related initiatives of the...

This egg-tempera-on-gesso mural was painted by Marion Gilmore in 1941. From When Tillage Begins: The Stone City Art Colony and School: "Gilmore won the WPA commission to produce a mural for the town of Corning, Iowa. The jury, led by former Stone City faculty member Edward Rowan, demanded that Gilmore's image only contain actual architecture and landmarks in the downtown district. Her mural, 'Band Concert,' won the federal-sponsored Forty-Eight States design competition of 1939 and depicts a summer band concert in a small, Iowa community. Upon its completion, Rowan demanded that Gilmore remove two objects (a cannon and an obelisk) from...

The New Deal mural “Volunteer Fire Department” was painted by Marion Gilmore in 1942. Gilmore also won the Forty-Eight States design competition of 1939 for her mural Band Concert," for the town of Corning, Iowa. From When Tillage Begins: The Stone City Art Colony and School: "A lifelong resident of Ottumwa, Iowa, Marion Gilmore... pursued art studies at the Art Students League and the Phoenix Art Institute, where she focused on commercial art. At the latter, Gilmore studied from 1931-32 under Norman Rockwell and other popular artists." (projects.mtmercy.edu)

Mural entitled "Iowa Farming" painted in 1937 by Richard Haines. "Richard Haines was born here in 1906. His parents, Fred and Hattie, were pioneer farmers at the turn of the century and Richard began sketching scenes of cows and the countryside as a child. His natural born skills were sufficient to win him a scholarship at the Minneapolis School of Art, where, upon graduation, he was hired as a professor. Haines was not content with the limited artistic styles offered there, so he enrolled in the L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in France... As a result of his exposure to the fine arts...

"New Deal mural entitled "Shucking Corn" painted by DeWitt native John Bloom, in 1938. The old post office building now houses City Hall." (flickr)