Ohio Sites

The historic New Deal post office in Louisville, Ohio was constructed with Treasury Department funds. The building no longer serves as a post office. An example of New Deal artwork created for the New Deal building has been relocated to the new Louisville post office.

The historic New Deal Maumee post office building was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which no longer houses postal operations, housed an example of New Deal artwork, which has since been relocated to the current facility.

The historic New Deal Miamisburg post office building was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, now operates as a senior center.

The historic New Deal post office building in Perrysburg, Ohio was constructed with Treasury Department funds. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is now privately owned.

The former Westerville post office was a New Deal project and used to contain a mural by Olive Nuhfer. The mural has been moved to a new post office north of downtown. An early photograph of the building can be found at the Ohio Memory online archive (https://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p267401coll34/id/9898/rec/1).

The historic former post office building in Willoughby, Ohio was constructed in 1934 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building had housed an example of New Deal artwork, now missing. Postal operations have moved to a different facility in the community and the New Deal post office is now privately owned.

The historic former post office building in Amherst, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Pioneers Crossing the Ohio River," completed in 1941 by Michael Loew. It was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Bedford, Ohio’s historic post office houses one of many examples of New Deal artwork commissioned for northeast Ohio post offices. “Drift Toward Industrialism” was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed by Karl Anderson.

Glenn M. Shaw painted the oil-on-canvas mural "Building of Ft. Meigs 1813" in 1942. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic former post office building in Willoughby, Ohio housed an example of New Deal artwork: "White Man’s First Sight of Lake Erie" by Sterling B. Smeltzer. The work was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed in 1938. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the mural are presently unknown.

The historic New Deal Miamisburg post office building houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Indian and Trader," a 1942 wood relief by Leo Schulemowitz. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The terra cotta relief entitled "Potter" was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was installed in Crooksville's historic post office building in 1939, where it still hangs today.

The historic Middleport post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "The Family," a 4' x 4' plaster relief by Clara Fasano. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The carved mahogany bas relief "Industry," housed in the lobby of the historic Paulding post office, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The wooden relief "The Clearing," by Joseph Stott was completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1941. It is installed in the historic Woodsfield post office.

A terra cotta bas relief entitled "Scioto County Settler" was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is housed in Worthington, Ohio's historic branch post office.

The historic post office in Ada, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Country Dance," a Treasury of Fine Arts-commissioned mural by Albert Kotin. The work was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1940.

The post office contains a 1937 Section of Fine Arts mural by Paul Meltsner entitled "Ohio." Meltsner’s “Ohio” is a brightly colored view of the industries of Ohio and the work of the people, agriculture to the left, with a powerful tractor in the center, a boat with ore and a factory to the right in the background. Note that by contrast to works by women artists, no women are included in this mural. Condition issues exist, unfortunately. Paul Meltsner was born in New York and studied at the National Academy of Design. He was a strong example of the style of social...

The oil-on-canvas mural "Joseph DeFord and His Friends Building the First Cabin" was painted with federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds. The work was installed in the lobby of Bluffton's historic post office building in 1941.

The lobby of the historic Bridgeport, Ohio post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: the oil-on-canvas painting ,"Ohio Harvest," was created by Richard Kenah in 1940. It was a winner of the Treasury Department's 48-State Post Office Competition.

The historic post office in Caldwell, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Noble County – Ohio," a Treasury of Fine Arts-commissioned tempera mural by Robert L. Lepper. The work was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1938.

“In all, artwork was commissioned for 19 post offices in the Cleveland area. In 2006, only eight are still operational. In those eight, the artwork from the Depression era was still present, though almost all needed cleaning and modest restoration. These include Clarence Carter’s mural for Ravenna; John Csosz’s mural for Cleveland, University Center (newly restored); Richard Zoellner’s mural Ore Docks and Steel Mills for Cleveland’s Pearlbrook post office; Lloyd R. Ney’s painting New London Facets for New London; W. Bimel Kehm’s plaster relief Citizens for Struthers; Glen Shaw’s two stirring murals Romance of Steel, Old and Romance of Steel,...

Joep Nicolas completed this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Coldwater Activities," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the lobby.

The historic post office in Crestline, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "The Crossroads—Crestline, Ohio" by Gifford Beal, a Treasury Section of Fine Arts-sponsored oil-on-canvas mural.

The historic post office in Dennison, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Passenger Pigeon," a Treasury of Fine Arts-commissioned oil-on-canvas mural by Edmund J. Sawyer. The work was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1940.

Rolf Stoll painted the oil-on-canvas mural "Early East Palestine and Dr. Rhett Chamberlain's Post Office and Warehouse" for the East Palestine post office in 1937. The work was sponsored by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

This oil-on-canvas mural "Van Ausdal's Trading Post" was painted for the Eaton, Ohio post office, in which it was installed in 1939. The mural with federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.

Henry Simon painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "The Wright Brothers in Ohio," in 1941. Sometimes mis-attributed to the W.P.A., the work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural was painted for the then-new (now-former) post office when the town of Fairborn was called Osborn. The work has since been relocated to the current post office in the community.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Bishop P. Chase Selects Site of Kenyon College" was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work was installed in the historic Gambier post office in 1943, where it is still visible today.

Created for the former New Deal post office in Geneva, Ohio, Living New Deal believes the New Deal mural "Rural Homestead" to reside in the 'new' building that replaced it. “William Sommer’s mural, Rural Homestead, was chosen as the winner of the competition for the Geneva, Ohio post office. It was a simple design of a family posing in front of their farmhouse, representing American values and a typical Middle American lifestyle. In executing the design, however, Sommer was not as interested in the social realist movement as were many other artists. He was considered the premier representative in Cleveland of...

Richard Zoellner painted this 6 1/4' x 13' oil on canvas mural, entitled "Tobacco Harvest," in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the lobby of the Georgetown post office. “Only a quarter of the artists who prepared murals in Ohio post offices were native to the state. Among them was Richard Zoellner, a native of Portsmouth and former student at the Cincinnati Art Academy, who may have witnessed the annual Brown county tobacco harvest and prepared this familiar scene for the Georgetown Post Office.” (wpamurals.org)

The post office contains a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by Wendell Jones entitled "First Pulpit in Granville." Granville is the home of Denison University and was the first Baptist College west of the Allegheny Mountains. The mural emphasizes the religious prominence in early Granville. The work is reminiscent of the work of Edward Hicks. The rounded upper margins is unusual, following the architecture of the upper walls. Wendell Jones was born in Galena KS served in WW I and after the war graduated from Dartmouth College and studied at the Student’s Art League in New York with Allan Tucker and...

The historic post office building in Hubbard, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork, Hubert Mesibov’s painting, "Steel Industry for Hubbard." The work, one of 19 commissioned for northeastern Ohio post offices, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office in Louisville, Ohio houses a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural by Herschel Levit entitled "Farm and Mill." The mural is tempera, 4 1/2 x 14 feet, 1941. “An explicit statement of the union of interests of the working class appears in Herschel Levit’s mural for Louisville. A Pennsylvania artist who has recently been recognized for his architectural photography, Levit portrayed large, muscular figures who smile and wave to each other as the industrial workers leave for the mill and the farmers attend to their chores.” The mural was painted for the old Louisville post office, but when the post...

The historic post office in Marysville, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: a fresco entitled "The Farmer." The Treasury Section of Fine Arts commissioned the work, which was created by James Egleson, which was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1940.

The current Maumee post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Communication," an oil-on-canvas mural commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Created for the historic post office in the city, it has since been relocated to the current facility.

The McConnelsville post office houses an example of new Deal artwork: "Mail--the Connecting Link," an oil-on-canvas mural by Sally F. Haley. The 5' x 17' ork was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Harvest, the Annal of America" was painted by Leonard Ahneman and installed in the then-new Montpelier, Ohio post office in 1941.

This oil-on-canvas painting "Pioneering to Progress." by Julius Wyhof. was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1938. The work hangs in the lobby of the historic Mt. Gilead post office.

The historic post office building in New Concord, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Skaters," an oil-on-canvas painting sponsored by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work was painted in 1940 by Clyde Singer.