40 horseshoes for entry #100: 2034 South Olsen Avenue

OK, I have trouble counting all of the horseshoes in the mailbox post. But (after trying a few times), I think there are 40 — or maybe 41. (If you have more patience for that kind of trivial pursuit, please feel free to correct me! :) However many horseshoes make up this mailbox post, I think it's probably the most amazing mailbox I'd found to this point (I was roped in by it on January 21st):

The "post" is a cowboy (made from horseshoes!) twirling a lasso. Here are two closer views:


The mailbox (and home) owner used to work for the local guy who made the mailbox. (I didn't get either person's name.) Maybe that explains why this is such a fabulous piece of work?

Happy 100th to us!

1957 South Martin Avenue

This mailbox is similar to yesterday's. But the post is painted a different color, and the tiles are different: solid blue as well as a blue design on white.

I was in the neighborhood January 21st.

1009 South Martin Avenue

This brown mailbox has cross-shaped tiles on all four sides of a terracota-painted post.

I took the photo on January 21st.

Desert “air mail” along CA highway 62

This blog is about Tucson mailboxes. But I travel a fair amount, so from time to time I'll post a mailbox that's out of town. When I saw this one yesterday, in the eastern California desert, I knew right away what I'd be “posting” here this morning:


As I drove along California 62, not far from the Arizona border (at Parker), I spotted that tall sign post at the corner of Iron Mountain Pump Plant Road. (You can click there for a satellite view.) Near the top of the post was a mailbox. But what was the address on the mailbox? I zoomed in and saw “OOP.” OOP?? There was a another post to the right of the box, covering what might be another letter on the back. I stood behind the box and zoomed in even more:

If you know the story of this box — or you'd just like to guess the missing letter that used to be before “OOPS” — please leave a comment below.

(PS: This is a small example of a much bigger sign forest in Arctic Canada. There are shots of it in the middle of my drive to Inuvik photo series.)

1815 South Olsen Avenue

There's a horse and rider, with a beautiful finish, between the two black posts underneath this black mailbox.
When I was there, on January 21, admiring his work, the owner, Kurt Shutes, told me that he made it himself. I've forgotten what he told me about the finish.

Kurt is the former owner of Pop-Up Magic, a business that made all kinds of art objects. They suspended business a year ago but may re-open. Some of his work was with Chris Andrews, a talented airbrush artist. For instance, the two of them did the gorgeous flowers outside the St. Augustine Cathedral downtown.

I'm looking forward to listing Kurt and Chris when I re-launch the TucsonArt.info website (in the next month, I hope!).

2005 South Amalia Avenue

The white curved post is made of big chain links. There are a fair number of these around town. Some of them might be mass-produced, but I think most are hand-made. (Can you guess how it's done? I haven't looked at one, but my guess is that the ends of the links are welded together.)

I weaved past this mailbox not long before sunset on January 21st.

(A similar post is made of horseshoes. I'll show it five days from now — around March 21st — on the 100th blog entry.)

2514 South Forgeus Stravenue

A white mailbox with two white wheels between two blue posts. The owner's name R. Gañez (or R. Cañez?), and the house number, are just below the box.

I took the photo on January 21st.

Around 527 North Norton Avenue

Okay, so I don't agree with defacing mailboxes. But this tagging was too cute to pass by — especially on a blog about mailboxes!

(It's a U.S. Postal Service mail storage box with the outline of a smiling spray-painted girl's face.)

The box doesn't have an address (as far as I know!). But when I click on the spot, Google says its address is 527 North Norton. I found it on the west side of Norton Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets, just north of the alley, on January 18.

1802 South Baxter Place

A black mailbox with wild fuchsia numbers and a snake flag:

I slithered by on January 5th.

3743 East Garden Street

A plain white mailbox mounted on a motorcycle wheel:

I rolled by on January 5th.

3644 East Juarez Street

A wooden mailbox carried by a huge bird (with a creatively-painted trailer behind):

I spotted it (actually, couldn't miss it :) on January 5th.

Update (November 15, 2021): The bird has been repainted. (Click there to see it.)

3233 East Vía Palos Verdes

This home is worth a special trip to see. The first thing you’ll notice is the entrance sign with (sculptured) bugs and the calipers across the bottom of the “2”:

But this is a mailbox blog. :) You can see the mailbox in the background of the photo above. To the right is a close-up.

The mailbox is mounted on a slender metal “tree” with leaves on its branches. Above it is a birdhouse. (I didn’t check to see whether the house had a current occupant.)

The homeowners must be creative, artistic people. What a gift they’ve given to their neighborhood... and the rest of us!

I discovered this visual feast on January 3rd.

515 South Avenida De Palmas

Here's a black mailbox with an obvious mailbox post for a street named Avenue of the Palms.

I found it on January 3rd.

Update (July 16, 2013): I snapped a photo at sunrise.

501 South Vía Esperanza

Looks like a metal vine (with a few leaves) is the post for this cylindrical mailbox.

It had sprouted when I rode by on January 3rd.

3274 East 24th Street

The post is the story of this mailbox: large and white, an unusual shape with blue and white tile trim. (How about a pot of flowers or a cactus on that top "shelf"?)

I found it January 3rd.

3265 East 44th Street

This two-faced mailbox has black paint on the east side (with stick-on numbers) and a rural scene on the west side:

The I spotted this on my art-hunting ride January 3rd.

Near 27th & Curtis

This white mailbox, with the silhouette of a horse's head, is on a house without an address (as far as I could tell). Unfortunately, the geotag embedded in the photo seems to be wrong, too! My notes say that the house is two houses west of South Curtis Avenue on East 27th Street. If you find it before I do, please leave a comment below or send me an email message.

I was there on January 2nd.

1642-1648 East 28th Street

A coyote howling at the moon (in the moon) tops these mailboxes.

2733 East Stratford Drive

I found this black mailbox with yellow ducks on New Year's Day.

2908 East 18th Street

A mailbox with red and yellow swirls... I spotted it on New Year's Day (January 1).

2937 East Eastland Street

This mailbox has dramatic clouds over a desert scene. On the post, a saguaro cactus in the same colors.

I found it on New Year's Day (January 1).

3013 East Eastland Street (not our kind of mailbox)

Though this mailbox has an artistic design, a closer look shows that there's a plastic cover — probably mail-ordered from a factory — over a generic mailbox. Though some number of the mailboxes on this blog are probably from factories, I try to avoid ones that I see quite a few of or that seem really mass-produced. So we won't show many manufactured tie-on mailbox covers like this one.

I took the photo on New Year's Day.

2307 East 17th Street

What makes this Native American-type mailbox fun is the “junk mail” box next to it on the ground.

These photos are from December 29th.

2313 East 17th Street

This black mailbox sits on top of a black auger. I found it on December 29th.

2658 East Keswick Circle

There's a pueblo scene on this mailbox.

The box and its post are wrapped with holiday decorations; I snapped the photo on December 29th.

2707 East Keswick Circle

This mailbox is mounted on a railroad switch. The home is just north of the Union Pacific railroad tracks that run along Aviation Highway.

I met the homeowner, the man who made this. Naturally enough, he works for the railroad.

2724 East Keswick Circle

Here's a green mailbox decorated with a red ribbon (I snapped this just after Christmas: December 29, 2012). The saguaro post has a hole for a bird to nest. (But the hole is rusty — and this saguaro is flat!)

1107 East Blacklidge Drive

I found this mailbox, in a stuccoed post with picture tiles, on December 25th.

1127 East Blacklidge Drive

This small barrel on its side is a mailbox, on top of a post, all painted in a silver color.

I found it on the way to a Christmas Day meal at Govindas (which is just west on Blacklidge... their vegetarian buffet is always a great holiday option if you'd like a lot of vegatables.)

2005 South Wilson Avenue

This white mailbox has white house numbers (2-0-0-5) inside its white post.

I rode through the neighborhood on December 23rd.

2415 South Tucson Stravenue

Two sides of this blue mailbox with hand-painted white flowers and a butterfly on front:

I fluttered by on December 23rd.

2327 South Tucson Stravenue

This green mailbox is mounted on a large crankshaft.

I rode through the neighborhood on December 23rd.

2320 South Tucson Stravenue

The letters in the post spell VELADOR (from the other side); the address is on the column behind.

I was in the neighborhood on December 23rd.

2314 South Tucson Stravenue

The homeowner's passion is classic cars, he told me. I believe he said that he bought the mailbox at a car show:

(We're in the part of town, not far from the railroad tracks and Aviation Highway, where streets turn diagonal and become Stravenues. This, for instance, is the chunk of Tucson Boulevard called Tucson Stravenue. There's also a Tucson Avenue.) I roared by here (on my bicycle :) December 23rd.

2210 South McFee Stravenue

I found this mailbox on December 23. (If you haven't heard of stravenues, here's a Wikipedia article about them. They're special to Tucson.)

5822 East Fairmount Street

A black mailbox with a stamped (and postmarked!) envelope painted on the side and a big red heart on the front:

I found it on December 8, 2012. Happy Valentine's Day!

2444 South Sawtelle Avenue

This white mailbox has desert scenes with edges like postage stamps (the kind you’d tear off and lick... remember them?) The front of the box has the scene at left — which I copied out of the image above and brightened using my favorite free Photoshop-like editor, GIMP.

2325 South Sawtelle Avenue

This faded mailbox has (or had) palm trees and flamingos. I found it on December 23rd.

2455 South Sawtelle Avenue

A mailbox on top of a fire hydrant on top of a post — on December 23.

3807 East Calle Altar

I found this grey mailbox with two cardinals on December 22nd.