Destinations Magazine

New Deal WPA Works in Cambridge City, Indiana

By Jessicanunemaker @JessNunemaker

New to little Indiana? Subscribe for free to my RSS feed. Thanks for stopping by!

Cambridge City, Indiana Post Office New Deal WPA Art

Cambridge City, Indiana Post Office New Deal WPA Art

There’s a gorgeous mural in Cambridge City, Indiana. It’s not in an art gallery or hanging in an Indiana town museum.

This one is found at the Cambridge City Post Office!

“Pride of Cambridge City” Mural

Those in the know may realize that the horse featured in this mural is none other than Single G, once a very famous racehorse!

Single G held the world’s record for pacing horses.

So, how exactly did this lovely mural end up inside of a post office? Simple. It was all because of the WPA, the Works Progress Administration, that provided jobless folks with a hand up.

Cambridge City WPA Mural

Cambridge City, Indiana Post Office New Deal WPA Art

Cambridge City, Indiana Post Office New Deal WPA Art

Artists competed for the chance to paint. In an open competition, well, as the saying goes, “may the best (wo)man win!” In this case, it was Samuel Hershey.

Completed November 27, 1941, the finished product measured 9 foot 6 inches by 4’6″ and cost $750.

After a Post Office was built, they could allocate funds for a mural–over one thousand post offices around the country joined in. Isn’t it lucky that this Wayne County post office had the funding!

Go There

The next time you find yourself in a small Indiana town post office: look up. You may be surprised to see an amazing 1940′s work of art!

Find pictures in Indiana on my Flickr photostream or on the new little Indiana Tumblr blog.

Just don’t forget to tell ‘em that  little Indiana sent you!

Cambridge City Post Office
227 W Main Street
Cambridge City
765.478.3831

View Larger Map

Don’t miss a moment. Subscribe to little Indiana and receive instant updates to stay on top of everything “little.”

little Indiana: Where to Stay, Play, and Eat in Small Towns in Indiana. Discovering Indiana’s best small towns! Now get little Indiana on your Kindle.

Targeted. Relevant. Affordable! little Indiana advertising.


Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog

Magazine