The Old Post Office
Originally posted on December 7, 2021
The Old Post Office, located on S Broadway St. downtown Siloam Springs, was built in 1937 as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project. During the second World War, the building’s basement served as a fall-out shelter. In 1965, some additions were made to the back of the building, such as a surveillance catwalk so that supervisors could monitor the postal employees.
Image of the Old Post Office c. 1940
A mural was created for the post office that can still be seen today. The mural, called “Lumbering in Arkansas”, was painted by Dr. Bertrand R. Adams (1907-1994) in 1940. Adams was commissioned $600 for the piece after submitting competent work in the Dubuque, Iowa, Section of Fine Arts competition. The piece depicts the four largest economic activities in Arkansas at the time: lumber, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Image of the Old Post Office Mural
Written by Autumn Roberts
Resources
Don Warden. Images of America: Siloam Springs (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2012), 70.
“Siloam Springs Post Office.” University of Central Arkansas - UCA Post Office Murals, https://uca.edu/postofficemurals/siloam-springs/.
For further information about other post office murals in the state of Arkansas, we recommend checking out UCA’s Post Office Murals collection at https://uca.edu/postofficemurals/.
