United States Post Office Coalgate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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United States Post Office Coalgate
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Location | 38 N. Main St., Coalgate, Oklahoma |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1940 |
| Architect | Louis A. Simon |
| Architectural style | Moderne |
| MPS | Oklahoma Post Offices with Section Art MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 09000214 |
| Added to NRHP | April 17, 2009 |
The United States Post Office Coalgate is a special building in Coalgate, Oklahoma. It's not just a place to send mail! Inside, you can find a beautiful painting called Women Making Pishafa. This amazing mural was created by an artist named Acee Blue Eagle, who was a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. This post office is so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Why Is This Post Office Special?
How the Coalgate Post Office Was Built
The idea for a new post office in Coalgate got approved by the government in 1937. At that time, the United States was going through a tough period called the New Deal. This was a series of programs created by the government to help people find jobs and improve the country.
One of these programs was run by the Treasury Department. It made sure that a part of the money used to build new government buildings also went to artists. These artists would then create art to decorate the buildings. This helped artists find work and made public buildings more beautiful.
The Coalgate Post Office was finished in 1940. It's a great example of how local communities benefited from the New Deal projects.
The Artist: Acee Blue Eagle
The government asked Acee Blue Eagle, a famous Muscogee Creek artist, to paint a mural for the Coalgate Post Office. He finished his painting in 1942. This post office is one of only three in Oklahoma that has a mural painted directly onto its wall.
Acee Blue Eagle was a very important Native American painter. He even started the art program at Bacone College. He also helped create a special art style called the Bacone school of Flatstyle painting.
The post office and its mural together show how a local New Deal project came to life. Because of its history and art, the post office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
What Does the Post Office Look Like?
The main architect for the Coalgate Post Office was Louis A. Simon. The building is designed in a style called Art Moderne. This style often features flat roofs and smooth, simple shapes.
The front of the building looks a bit unusual because it's not perfectly even. The main entrance is in the middle, but the four large windows around it are not. There are two windows on the left, one on the right, and one above the door. There's also a smaller window on the far right side. The name of the building is also off-center, placed above the four large windows.
The outside of the building is made of light brown bricks. You can also see some darker orange bricks mixed in. When you go inside, you enter an I-shaped lobby through a wooden and glass entryway. The service counters where you send mail are on the wall opposite the entrance.
The Mural: Women Making Pishafa
Where Is the Mural Located?
The beautiful mural is painted right above the door to the postmaster's office. Acee Blue Eagle used special paints called distemper and acrylics to create it.
What Does the Mural Show?
The painting is a great example of the Bacone school style. This was a popular way of painting among Native artists in the early to mid-1900s.
The mural, Women Making Pishafa, shows people making pashofa. Pashofa is a traditional soup made from flint corn by the Muscogee Creeks and other Native American tribes in the Southeastern United States.
In the painting, you can see a woman on the right side. She is pounding corn to make cornmeal. In the middle, two women are working together to separate the corn husk from the soft corn pulp. Behind them, there's a table with bowls and a coffee pot. This shows that pashofa can be enjoyed as a soup or even a drink. While the women are busy, a young boy plays with a toy horse. On the left side, a man is shooting an arrow at some birds flying overhead.
How the Mural Was Saved
In 1964, the post office had some renovations done inside. During this work, dust and dirt unfortunately damaged the painting. Luckily, another talented artist named Fred Beaver, who was Seminole and Muscogee, carefully fixed and restored the mural.
