Honesdale Sites

This classic New Deal post office was constructed with Treasury Department funding, in conjunction with Public Works Administration (PWA), in 1935. The building, PWA Federal Project 332, houses a series of New Deal murals. "On April 1, 1935 ground was broken for the present brick post office. In December 1935 equipment was moved into the building and the dedication was held December 13, 1935. The land was purchased for $8,500 and the cost to build was $60,000."   (https://www.waynehistorypa.org/plid/173)

The historic Honesdale post office houses an impressive set of New Deal murals. The works, respectively titled "Canal Boat," "Clearing the Wilderness," "Coal," "Gravity Railroad," and "Visit by Washington Irving," were installed by artist Walter Gardner in 1937, under the auspices of the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP). Each oil-on-canvas panel depicts a scene from local history. The murals occupy three walls of the customer lobby, including the space above and around the front entrance to the building. The Wayne Independent, Jan. 1937 (article copied/typewritten in display panel at P.O.): The walls of the lobby of the Honesdale Post Office have been decorated...