Missouri Sites

The Treasury Department funded the construction of this post office, designed by Louis Simon, in 1936. It features a modern deco design with flat stone around the entryway, tall windows, and modern light fixtures flanking the entry. Above the windows towards the north and south sides of the front, there are propellers emphasizing the use of air mail. There is no mural in this post office.

In 1939, the Treasury Department funded the construction of this typical colonial style post office with a central cupola, a red brick façade, with stone accents. There is no mural in this post office.

Constructed by the Treasury Department in 1938.

The historic Ste. Genevieve post office was constructed with Treasury Department funds in 1939. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in service.

The post office in Sullivan was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1940.

This New Deal Post Office in Vandalia was constructed with the help of New Deal funds circa 1936-37. The entry to the post office has three bas reliefs depicting the different forms of transportation used to deliver the mail including train, ship, and plane.

Constructed by the US Treasury in 1935.

This classic New Deal post office was constructed by the Treasury Department in 1938. It is still standing, but now houses the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. The mural originally painted for this post office has been moved to the new post office which is located catty corner from this building, to the northeast.

Constructed by the Treasury Department in 1939. The post office has since moved to a newer facility. The building was used as an antique store, but is up for sale as of Summer 2013. The mural by James Penney that was created for this post office now hangs in the new post office at 1276 Missouri Route 47, Union, MO.

The historic United States Post Office and Courthouse in Jefferson City, Missouri was dedicated on November 17, 1934. In the dedication address, J. Austin Latimer, Special Assistant to the Postmaster General stated, "The magnificent building we dedicate today will long stand as a monument and milestone of the social and business progress of Jefferson City. The postal service is a true barometer of business and progress. Beautiful architecture also shows the culture of a civilization." "If this building were just a post office, we'd know it was built by the Treasury Dept. Since there's a courthouse, too, perhaps it's PWA." A new...

The post office contains a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Time Out" painted by Joseph Vorst in 1942. Mural showing a farm family taking a lunch break, with minimal shadows showing that it was noon. The regionalist theme and style are typical of Vorst who was a friend and influenced by both Joe Jones and Thomas Hart Benton. Joseph Vorst was born in Essen, Germany where he studied under Max Liebermann. He immigrated to the United States, probably to escape the Nazis and was involved in Liberal politics and condemnations of the Nazis. He was very successful, particularly 1939-1942.

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Winter Landscape" painted by Jessie Hull Mayer in 1940.

The post office contains a 1941 mural created out of enameled porcelain panels. Entitled "Flora and Fauna of the Region," the mural was created by Edward Winter under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office contains a mural entitled "Harvest" by Joe Jones. It was created in 1939 with the support of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural “Harvest by Joe Jones was done at the height of the artists fame and is a classic subject for Mr. Jones.  It shows the harvest of wheat in a very labor intensive manner showing the cutting of the wheat, gathering it, and stacking it on a wagon.  Wheat dominates the field, though the farmers provide a great deal of motion.  It is all done under a dark cloudy sky. Joe Jones was largely self-taught...

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural "Coon Hunt" painted by Richard Haines in 1942. Richard Haines was born in Iowa in 1906 and chose realistic, contemporary subjects that directly related to the life of the people in the communities where his murals were located.  In Coon Hunt, he portrayed a group of men hunting raccoons at night by lantern with dogs.  The intensity of the hunters and dogs is palpable, though some of the hunters and dogs are looking around, seemingly wondering if the coon has escaped.  The hunter to the far left has a wild-eyed...

The post office contains a 1941 Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by Joe Jones entitled "Husking Corn." This is an excellent mural showing farmers harvesting and husking corn.  The dominant feature is the men working with lots of movement and wearing work clothes.  The corn is important, but could be any commodity.  He is celebrating the workers, very much in keeping with his strong political beliefs. Joe Jones was largely self-taught and won an award in 1931 which enabled him to travel to the artists colony in Provincetown, MA.  He was highly political and after becoming communist, was shunned by many...

"Picnic, Lake of the Ozarks" Medium: oil on canvas Size: 5' x 15'

The post office contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts mural by James Turnbull entitled "The Lead Belt." Haunting work showing the juxtaposition of a farmer plowing his field in the wind in the lower right quarter, while the upper half is dominated by a large mine , processing plant and a growing tailings pile that are killing trees at its base and encroaching on the farmer’s field.  In the lower left quarter is the lane to the mead mine and severe erosion. James Turnbull was born in St. Louis in 1909, studied journalism at the Univ. of Missouri, then the School...

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural painted by Jac T. Bowen entitled "Industrial Activity in the City." This is a brightly colored image incorporating local manufacturing concerns. In contrast to many murals, the emphasis is on the machines with the people working on the machines, but the focus is on the different types and size of the machines, particularly the generator in the middle of the mural. Bowen explained his mural: “Work made the town—work is building the town—and work will be the theme of their future; the song of their machines, their minds and their hands”. He...

The oil-on-canvas mural “Loading Cattle” by James Turnbull was painted in 1940 for what was then the Jackson post office. That building is now the Chamber of Commerce, and the mural now hangs in the new post office. The mural was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is an excellent work of art with his use of cattle being loaded onto a cattle car, men on horses, and the train.  The intersecting and contrasting lines of the cattle car and the loading is particularly effective. This has an additional interesting story in that it was initially selected to be...

The mural "Missouri Livestock," by Emma Lu Davis, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed in 1939.

The mural "Contemporary Life in Missouri" was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the then-new Marceline post office. It was completed in 1938. This is a dramatic mural depicting the work in this area of northern Missouri with extensive mining operations shown on the left, smoke billowing from the works, a large slag heap in the far background as well as behind the miners.  Farming is shown in the center and to the right of the mural, though the stumps of corn have a look of devastation.  Harvesting and shocks of corn are shown in the center and...

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Products of Missouri" painted by James McCreery in 1939. McCreery painted a luminous painting of local farm products including fruits, vegetables and chickens. The whole work is multiple vignettes painted almost as isolated still-lifes, but which work well as a whole. The railroad tracks and wheel in the background emphasized the importance of railroads for the local economy. Little is known about James McCreery, unfortunately given the quality of this work. He was born in Berkeley, CA in 1901 and died in Brooklyn, NY in 1970.

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Spring Pastoral" painted by Joseph Meert in 1940. A beautiful spring day outside Mount Vernon with farmers working in a strawberry field, the dairy cows to the left, barn in background and a tractor plowing on the right. In the far background, there is a town, Mount Vernon being the home of a large TB sanitarium. The scene is idyllic and is similar in this regard to other murals from the state. Joseph Meert was born in Brussels, Belgium and immigrated to Kansas City in 1910. He trained at the Kansas...

The mural "Memories of Marion County" is a compilation of scenes from Marion County including a flood scene (on the left), slaves escaping to Illinois (on the right), and Tom, Huck, and Jim on the raft (in the middle).  The Mississippi River dominates Marion County, though Palmyra is inland several miles. The mural by James Penney was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. James Penney was born in St. Joseph, MO and studied art at the University of Kansas, then studied at the Art Students League in New York.  He later became the Vice President of the Art Students...

Medium: oil on canvas This mural, “The Clemens Family Arrives in Monroe County,” depicts the arrival of a young Samuel Clemens on horseback with his father, as Samuel points to his new home and women ride in a fancy carriage across a small stream.  The Clemens family settled outside of Florida, MO in the area of present-day Mark Twain Lake. The artist, Fred Carpenter, was born in Nashville, TN, moving to St. Louis and attending the Washington, University School of Fine Arts in 1900.  He served as a consultant to the World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904 and thereafter became a...

The post office contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts mural "Back Home, April 1865" painted by Tom Lea. Although unpleasant subjects and memories are seldom seen in Post Office murals, the scene depicted is that of four people returning to their devastated land on a gray day in April, 1865 at the conclusion of the Civil War after having been forced off of their land as a result of Order Number Eleven which was a Union Army directive by General Thomas Ewing, issued on August 25, 1863, 4 days after a massacre by Quantrill’s raiders in Lawrence, KS.  The order...

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural by Martyl Schweig entitled "La Guignolee." A 1941 newspaper article now displayed by the mural explains that the soon to be installed mural depicts an old Ste. Genevieve custom.

The post office contains a 1942 Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by Lawrence Adams entitled "Saturday Afternoon on Main St." This is a somewhat crowded mural showing people on Main Street in downtown Sullivan at the time the work was produced.  The postal worker related that the work was largely done by students at the University of Missouri at Rolla, but this hasn’t been confirmed.

This Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by James Penney entitled "Aspects of Rural Missouri" was painted for the old Union MO post office building in 1941. The mural was recently restored and moved to this new post office building. This is a typical mural scene from rural Missouri showing a farmer tending to his mules(probably Missouri Mules), a disc in the foreground, cattle and a large haystack in the center and a hunter on the right. James Penney was born in St. Joseph, MO and studied art at the University of Kansas, then studied at the Art Students League in New...

This mural "Corn Harvest" by Joseph Vorst was painted for the Vandalia post office with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It depicts a classic regionalist subject with farmers harvesting corn, stacking the corn into shocks, and then transporting them on a cart pulled by two mules.  A barn is in the background and the right side of the mural features lunch for the men.  Some erosion is evident on the hill in the center and the tree roots on the right are exposed. Joseph Vorst was born in Essen, Germany where he studied under Max Liebermann.  He immigrated...

The post office contains a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by H. Louis Freund entitled "Agriculture and Varied Institutes." The mural is a triptych centered on a monumental farmer working behind a plow pulled by 2 powerful horses.  He is moving away from the viewer, consumed by his labor, not by the surroundings.  In the left panel, a steam shovel dominates the scene, surrounded by trucks all of which dwarf the men in the front center.  The idyllic chicken farm scene in the right panel has precisionist elements, but the young boy feeding the chickens embodies a peaceful time and...

The post office contains a series of frescoes by artist Gustaf Dahlstrom. The murals were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1941. This large set of frescoes was executed by a master of the technique and depicted the rich history of St. Joseph, MO. Blacks are prominently represented, though it is primarily in stereotypical rolls of laborers and singing and dancing. There are some significant condition issues and partial repairs. Gustaf Dahlstrom was born in Gotland, Sweden and immigrated to the United States. He lived primarily in Chicago and worked at the Field Museum documenting wildlife displays.

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts sculpture by Carl Mose entitled "Family Group." The sculpture is a wood bas relief with the father in support at the base, mother supporting the child who is reaching for a dove. A church is in the background surrounded by trees. All is peaceful and tranquil in this scene with no fore-shadowing of war, save the child reaching for the bird of peace. Carl Mose was born 1903 in Copenhagen, Denmark, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, the Student’s Art League and Beaux Arts Academy in New York City. He specialized in...

PWA funding built this high school in Potosi in 1936. It is a large 2 story building with a brick façade and a concrete base. Bas reliefs are at the top of the central entry portion of the front of the building, with Potosi labeled prominently. The information plaque is a gold hued bronze material. The school is now John Evans Middle School.

Completed by the Public Works Administration in 1937 to serve the City Hospital complex, the Power Building is a tall 3-story building with high ceilings on all floors. It is rectangular and covered with red brick. There is a tall brick smokestack. The building has been repurposed and currently houses a climbing gym, an elegant restaurant, and other businesses.

This single story multi-room school was built in 1936, financed through the Public Works Administration with confirmatory cornerstone. The school is still in use and has been added to rather extensively, though the original part of the school retains its prominence.

This large and unusual WPA-built swimming pool was begun in September, 1936 and was scheduled to be complete within 6 months.  It has an unusual fan-shape for the main large pool and an adjacent shallow pool.  The bathhouse/dressing rooms are within the rock faced building to the east of the pool.  At this time, a chain link fence surrounds the pool, though it is doubtful that it did originally.  It has an extensive filter system on side of the hill above the pool.  The filter has an active sand filter with additional layers of rock and sand above it to...

R. J. Delano High School was completed in 1939 with funds provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA), after a design by the architectural firm of Keen & Simpson. It is dominated by a tall tower with rock or concrete accents adjacent to the entry hallway. Above the entry is an inscription: “Let naught but happiness and contentment dwell within these portals”. Designed as a school for “handicapped” children, it had most recently been utilized as an alternative school, but recently closed and is for sale.  

The Public Works Administration completed this railway underpass for Route 19 in 1934, just south of historic Route 66.