Minnesota Sites

The historic post office in Thief River Falls, Minnesota was built in 1935-6 with Treasury Department funds. Its cornerstone was laid Aug. 10, 1935. The stately building was designed by A. F. and Ray R. Gauger, architects, and is still in service.

The historic post office in Wabasha, Minnesota was constructed federal Treasury Department funds in 1937-8. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork inside, is still in service.

The stately post office in Wadena, Minnesota was built in 1934-5 with Treasury Department funds. The historic building is still in service.

The gorgeous, historic post office in Waseca, Minnesota was built in 1936-7 with Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.

The historic Wayzata post office was built in 1941-2 with Treasury Department funding. The gorgeous building, which houses a New Deal mural, is still in service.

The federal government financed construction of a new post office in Hopkins, Minnesota during the Great Depression, in 1934-5. The building opened on May 24, 1925 and was dedicated May 29, 1935. Per a 1954 U.S. Geological Survey map the building was located on the west side of what is now 9th Ave. S, between what is now Main St. and 1st St. S. While financed by the Treasury Department, construction of the post office is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building housed an example of New Deal artwork, which is no longer extant.

White Bear Lake was home to a historic post office building with New Deal connections. A site for the building was acquired in 1936 and bids were accepted in 1937. The operation was a branch of the St. Paul post office as of June 1, 1938, and the building was likely completed that year. No longer extant, in its place is a bank building at 2151 3rd Street.

The since-demolished former post office building in Hopkins, Minnesota housed a glorious example of New Deal artwork: "Cultivation of Raspberries," a wraparound mural painted by David Granahan in 1935-6. Commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), the work is believed to have been destroyed along with its former home.  

The three-piece New Deal mural: "The Founding of Rochester" was created for the then-new (and since-demolished) post office in Rochester, Minnesota. It depicts the laying out of Broadway Street by pulling logs through the brush with oxen. Painted in 1937 by David Granaham, the work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is currently in the History Center of Olmsted County.

The historic former post office in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota was built in 1934 with Treasury Department funds. The building currently serves as the Detroit Lakes Public Schools district office.

The stately former post office (and later, Federal Building) in St. Cloud, Minnesota was constructed with Treasury Department funds and completed in 1938. Oddly, the building's 1936 cornerstone was laid in July 1937. (Further research is needed to discern the exact contract and construction dates of the building.) The building replaced an early-century post office building at the same site, which was physically lifted and relocated on rollers to a new location, becoming St. Cloud's city hall. The building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, also received multiple examples of New Deal artwork. It is also now privately...

The monumental former post office and federal building at 180 Kellogg Blvd. in St. Paul, Minnesota was constructed during the Great Depression. The original structure was designed in 1931-2, during the Hoover administration; bears a 1933 cornerstone and was constructed in May to Sept. 1934. The architectural style is PWA Moderne. While it would seem the New Deal connection to this structure is questionable, a second issuance of funding for the building enables us to attribute construction of the original 11-story facility to the Public Works Administration (PWA). As detailed by a 1985 Historic, Architectural & Archaeological Significance Survey: The additional appropriation for...

The classic New Deal former post office in Windom, Minnesota was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1939. The stately brick building is now privately owned. An example of New Deal artwork created for the facility has since been relocated.

The historic post office in Worthington, Minnesota was built in 1934 with Treasury Department funds. It is now privately owned and known as the Worthington Professional Building.

The stately former post office (and later, Federal Building) in St. Cloud, Minnesota received multiple examples of New Deal artwork for what is now known as the Lionel J. Spaniol Memorial lobby. One work was David Granahan's "Construction—Saint Cloud," an oil-on-canvas mural completed in 1937. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It depicts "men in overalls quarrying, cutting, chiseling and polishing granite." Per on-site plaque: In December 1965, as federal contractors demolished the lobby of the building, " Spaniol recognized the need to save two pieces of art decorating the post office since the late 1930's. His...

The mural "Agricultural Theme" was painted for the then-new (now-former) post office in Windom, Minnesota by Charles W. Thwaites. Completed in 1943, the work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural, as well as two alternate sketches composed by Thwaites, are now housed in the county museum.

The stately former post office (and later, Federal Building) in St. Cloud, Minnesota received multiple examples of New Deal artwork for what is now known as the Lionel J. Spaniol Memorial lobby. One work was Brenda Putnam's "The Southwest and the Northeast Divided by the Mississippi," a plaster relief completed in 1939. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Per on-site plaque: In December 1965, as federal contractors demolished the lobby of the building, " Spaniol recognized the need to save two pieces of art decorating the post office since the late 1930's. His intervention saved two important...

Elsa Jemne painted this egg-tempera-on-plaster fresco: "The Hutchinson Singers," for the then-new post office in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Completed in 1942, the work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Lucia Wiley completed this fresco, entitled "Gathering Wild Rice," in 1939 for the then-new Long Prairie post office. The work, which was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, is viewable in the lobby to this day.

The historic post office in Breckenridge, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Arrival of the Rural Mail," painted by Robert Allaway in 1938. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The 5' x 14' tempera-on-canvas mural entitled "Hog Raising," located in the historic Caledonia post office, was completed by Edmund Lewandowski (1914-1998) in 1942. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It depicts a farm scene of three men shoveling corn to pigs. Caledonia postmaster Charles Dorival suggested that the mural depict some kind of farm scene, believing that it represented, in the words of a contemporaneous article in the local paper, The Argus, "the most general activity of farmers engaged in hog raising in this area. Colors dominant in the mural are of a green and...

Seymour Fogel painted this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "People of the Soil," in 1940 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the lobby of the Cambridge, Minnesota post office. "People of the Soil" is "a Regionalist work in both its subject matter and its perspective. The mural, which depicts a family of Minnesota agriculturalists, does not aim to achieve a journalistic fidelity to reality. Instead, it presents us with the kind of rural idyll we often see in Grant Wood’s paintings; it presents us with an idealized view of rural life in 1930s Minnesota. "In this piece,...

The historic post office in Chisholm, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Discovery of Ore," an oil-on-canvas mural painted by Betty Carney in 1941. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Grand Rapids, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Life in Grand Rapids and the Upper Mississippi," a tempera mural completed by James S. Watrous in 1939. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Hastings, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts-commissioned mural entitled "Arrival of Fall Catalogue." The work, by Richard Haines, was completed in 1938.

The historic post office in International Falls, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Early Logging at Koochiching Falls," a mural painted by Lucia Wiley in 1937. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Elof Wedin painted this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Street Scene," in 1937for the lobby of the then-new Litchfield, Minnesota post office. Commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, the work is viewable at the post office to this day.

"Pioneers Arriving in Marshall by Wagon Train" Henry Holmstrom painted this oil on canvas mural in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable on the Marshall post office lobby. The historic post office in Marshall, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Pioneers Arriving in Marshall by Wagon Train," a mural painted by Henry Holmstrom in 1938.

"Gager's Trading Post on the Wadsworth Trail" is a tempera-on-canvas mural painted by Alfred Sessler for the lobby of the then-new post office in Morris, Minnesota. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and is still viewable at the post office today.

The tempera mural entitled "Production" was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work, created for the historic post office in North St. Paul, Minnesota, was completed in 1941 and it is still visible in the post office lobby today.

The historic post office in Sauk Centre, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Threshing Wheat," a mural painted by Richard Jansen in 1942. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Margaret Martin painted this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Indian Hunters and Rice Gatherers," in 1940. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "Margaret Martin’s mural proposal for the St. James, Minnesota, post office showed Indians gathering wild rice, hunting fowl, and fishing, emphasizing the harmony between the Land of 10,000 Lakes and its earliest inhabitants. Martin took nine months to complete this work, which has hung in its original location at the post office since June 1940. In the mural, a woman uses sticks to harvest the rice from the stalks, while a man hunts birds with his...

The historic post office in Wabasha, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts-commissioned mural entitled "The Smoke Message," completed in 1939.

The historic post office in Wayzata, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Wayzata (Pines of the North)," a mural painted by Ruth Grotenrath. Completed in 1947, this was among the last completed works commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Cloquet, Minnesota housed an example of New Deal artwork: "Lake Superior Shores – Yesterday and Today," an oil-on-canvas painting by Dewey Albinson. The work, completed in 1937, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Unfortunately the post office has been extensively modified during careless renovations, and the artwork is missing.

White Bear Lake's historic (and demolished) former post office building was home to an example of New Deal artwork: "Early Voyageurs at Portage" / "The Early Voyagers at a Portage," a 12' x 4' mural by Nellie Best. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work depicted "a view of a lake with Indians carrying canoes to be loaded with supplies. In the background running down to the water's edge the forests of Minnesota are depicted." Per an article in The Winona Daily News, the work " tribute to the early French explorers. WPAmurals: The mural...

The historic Ely, Minnesota post office houses two examples of New Deal artwork: "Wilderness" and "Iron-Ore Mines," murals painted by Elsa Jemne in 1941. The works were commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office in Park Rapids, Minnesota houses a collection of New Deal wooden reliefs created by Alonzo Hauser: "Park Service Symbol," "Indian," and "Lumberjack in Setting." The works were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed and installed in 1941.

Built in 1938 to act as a long-lasting bridge for County Road 31 over the Redwood River. Many other bridges had preceded it near the location, however all were washed away or significantly destroyed in prior storms and floods. The swayback design was to allow water to pass over the top in times of flooding. The bridge still serves its original purpose in the present day, and carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic to and from the Eastern and Western sides of Alexander Ramsey Park.

Riverside Park was conceived of, developed, and built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the drought years of the mid-30’s, being completed in 1936. The project called for the development of 2.5 acres of pasture land along the bank of the Long Prairie River, near the intersection of Hwy 71 and Hwy 27 in Long Prairie, MN. Overall, the park encompasses a total of 7 acres. A dam was constructed on the Long Prairie River to divert water into a pond that would be used for swimming in the summer, and ice skating in the winter. The skating rink...