Enduring post office art a testament to Iowa values

As a fourth-grader, I remember visiting the Dubuque post office with my mother and being captivated by two towering murals bookending the entranceway. These vibrant snapshots of early life on the Mississippi River fascinated me. They still do.

Dubuque has two of Iowa’s many examples of Depression-era federally funded mural projects. The most impressive are Grant Wood’s at the Iowa State University Library, but there are others, including 34 functioning post offices proudly displaying murals funded by the United States Treasury department during the Great Depression.