WPA & New Deal
Civic Buildings
Style: Classical Revival
Portales Post Office
East Region
Image from New Mexico MainStreet
Constructed 1937
Funded by the Public Works Administration, Portales' Main Post Office was completed in 1937 and is built with red brick in the Classical Revival style. The post office is part of a complex of administrative buildings downtown including the WPA constructed courthouse across the street. The post office is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The post office also features a mural by Theodore Van Soelen. Soelen studied local landscape and took samples of flora back to his studio to be sure his mural, "Buffalo Range", accurately portrayed the region. He also studied live buffalo in zoos and sketched stuffed animals as well. -- Source "Public Art and Architecture in New Mexico 1933-1943" by Kathryn A. Flynn
116 W. First St. | Portales, NM 88130 | 575-356-4781
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mon: 8:30am-5pm | tue: 8:30am-5pm | wed: 8:30am-5pm | thu: 8:30am-5pm | fri: 8:30am-5pm | sat: 9am-12pm
