1434 East Water Street

I found a lot of mailboxes on my May 20th ride along Water Street. This one, mounted on posts like you might find on a pier — and the next (next week) — have a water theme.

1312 East Water Street

You aren't gonna break in to this all-steel mailbox.

Found on May 20th.

1210 East Water Street

On May 20, 2013, I rode past this gray mailbox inside a shiny post covered with tile, mirrors and crystals.

1119 East Water Street

Here's a green mailbox with tile numbers on the post and a critter flag.

I came by it on May 20th.

843 East Water Street

A handsome mailbox with soft mountaintops under a warm desert sky:

I snapped the photos on May 20th.

458 East Alturas Street

Here's a black box with the address, on top, in a mountain-shaped piece of rust-finished metal.

I rolled by it on May 20th.

2519 North Geronimo Avenue

This black mailbox, mounted on an iron circle with a disc in the middle, has an interesting shadow, too:

I found it on May 20th.

3411 North Geronimo Avenue

These tidy-looking stuccoed mailbox and separate address post have tile numbers and artwork around them.

They were along the route of my May 20th bike ride.

3645 North Stone Avenue

On the west side of busy North Stone Avenue is a mailbox that's probably caught your eye as you rode by. It's a dark brown metal color, wrapped by huge flowers and leaves.

(Though I'd spotted this place before, I finally took the photos on May 20th — by riding my bike along narrow Stone Avenue early in the morning, before there was much traffic. Bike lanes here are tiny, and there are no parallel side streets along this part of Stone.)

There's lots more iron work around the home. See the page 3645 North Stone on TucsonArt.info.

3398 North Fontana Avenue

Matching critters, top and bottom, on this black mailbox.

Fontana had lots of good box-hunting on May 20, 2013!

3360 North Fontana Avenue

This black mailbox has a black cat between its posts.

I snapped the photo on May 20, 2013.

2520 North Fontana Avenue

If you've been following the last few entries, you know that I was riding along North Fontana Ave. on May 20 of last year. And if you've already seen today's entry on the Tucson Murals Project blog, you'll know that there are handpainted murals on the porch. (If you missed it, click there.)

And here you can see the box. It's black, on a dark post set with square and rectangular tiles.

3307 North Fontana Avenue

On May 20th, I just happened to be riding far enough on Fontana Avenue that I spotted two similar mailboxes eight blocks away from each other. You saw the first box, at 2520 N. Fontana, yesterday. (If you didn't, you can click there.)

Here's the second box, the one farther north. It's black, with the house number and a saguaro between the posts.

(I normally don't show saguaros, but this coincidence made the boxes worth showing.)

2507 North Fontana Avenue

This plain white box has its house number and a saguaro between the posts:

I found it (and the box at 3307 North Fontana; see tomorrow's entry!) on May 20, 2013.

P.S. The last half of last year was sooooo busy that I had to cut the number of mailbox “posts.” But I'm back on my bicycle, and I'm hoping to get back to posting boxes every day — at least, every weekday.

203 East Linden Street

Let's start 2014 with a creative white mailbox that has the address — 203 E. Linden — in curved dashed letters on both sides:

I snapped it on May 20th (2013).

Santa Koala, 3202 East 28th

We started 2013 with a koala bear mailbox, at 3202 East 28th Street, complete with branches and leaves. When I rolled by last Friday, the 27th, I saw that the owner had added some Christmas cheer to the street.

2411 East Waverly Street

I rolled by this sunny spring scene on May 14th: a handpainted white box, covered by — and surrounded by — flowers.

2345 East Elm Street

In case Christmas Day in Tucson doesn't turn out to be bright and sunny, the photo in today's Tucson Murals Project post, Maybe a mural, part 49: Giant flowers on Elm will brighten up your day.

There's also a mailbox at 2345 East Elm, but it's not quite as spectacular as the flowers:

Homeowners at 2345: Thanks for the art… and the box!

PS: I've been super-busy these past few months. There just hasn't been time to post many mailbox photos. I'm hoping to break away a day, soon, to post a lot of the backlog of boxes. Please check back!

Pantano River Park (at Speedway)

Is it the World's Biggest Mailbox? Well, it doesn't actually hold mail, so… maybe not:

It's just east of the Lowe's store on Speedway & Kolb. There's a map and some overall info on the Pima County website. The November 12, 2012 Arizona Daily Star article Tucson Oddity: Postcard tiles, 'mailbox' send welcome message tells more.

I took this photo on November 13th. There are more photos on the Tucson Murals Project blog in the April 21, 2010 entry.

2401 East Mabel Street

This black mailbox has stenciled flowers and numbers:

I found it on May 14th.

2626 East Devon Street

On May 14th, I rolled by this white mailbox with hand-painted rectangular pictures and decoration.

3720 East Lee Street

Okay, so this photo isn't really a mailbox. The mailbox is behind it - a stock U.S. Postal Service multi-unit box. But I thought the unique combination of a totem pole and a wind vane made this worth posting here.

I blew by on May 13th.

2810 East Lee Street

Here's a black box with unique scrollwork and a ball on top of the post.

I snapped it on May 13th.

2726 East Lee Street

I'm on my latest trip to New Mexico (which is part of why I haven't been posting to this blog… the other is that I've been really busy!). But I'll try to Keep The Boxes Coming much more often now.

I found this white mailbox, with lavender and brown dribbled paint and a lavender flag, on May 13th.

2711 East Lee Street

Why does this red-and-white mailbox have a post that's around ten feet high? The top reminds me of a place to hang flags or pennants. (If you know better, please leave a comment below or send me email.)

I spotted it (hard not to miss it!) on May 13th at 2711 E. Lee Street.

Update (June 19, 2019): Donna Reardon emailed us the story of this mailbox:

This is my childhood home I grew up and lived in for 18 years. My father made this mailbox and post. He was an certified welder and iron worker. The reason why it’s so high is that it was a light for the front yard. Of course the light on the top is long gone. It was pretty neat in the 1960’s. We didn’t have any street lights and the yard was very dark.

Thank you, Donna!

Another box that rocks: 2209 North Tucson Boulevard

I'm back from a trip out of town (without my mailbox photos to post). But now the boxes are back!

On January 2, I posted a box that rox — actually, a mailbox on a pile of rocks. Here's one on a post (made of concrete?) that's (almost) covered with flagstone:

I unearthed it May 13th.

2602 East Mabel Street

Instead of putting your mailbox outside the wall around the front of your home, why not put it in the wall — so you don't have to go around to get your mail?

The owner of this mailbox did that. It's embedded in the stuccoed wall (and covered with stucco itself) next to a bright green and dark lavender gate. I rolled by (and stopped!) on May 13th.

The other side of 2601 East Mabel Street

As I hinted in the previous entry (you can click there to see it), I've been very busy. So busy, in fact, that I didn't check to see if I'd taken a photo of the other side of that box.

I found it this morning, as I was about to do another post. Here's the other side of the same box, on May 13:

2601 East Mabel Street

The Boxes Are Back after a break for (me) moving to a new home. This box is a great way to start (again):

It's white with green and black faces and eyes. I found it on May 13th.

608 Shattuck Street, Bisbee

Although this is the Tucson Mailbox Art blog, I can't resist a great mailbox anywhere (especially on Friday the 13th in 2013 :).

Gregg Townsend just surprised me with photos of this church-shaped mailbox in Bisbee... including teacups and saucers on the ground next to its post:

Is that an electricity-generating windmill over the steeple? Here's a close-up:

Whattabox! Thanks, Gregg.

1214 North Forgeus Avenue

Here's a mailbox design I haven't seen before. It's painted green, and the base is also painted: with flowers.

I spotted it on May 13th.

The other side of 2903 East Toledo Place

Back on January 1, I posted a mailbox at 2903 East Toledo Place. But I only showed one side. I came back on May 13th and photographed the other side:

Though I normally don't show boxes with saguaro-shaped posts, the chile-shaped flag won!

2934 East 9th Street

On top of this brown mailbox is a quail cut from sheet metal:

I waddled by (quickly) on May 13th.

301 South Eastbourne Avenue

This black mailbox has a black scroll underneath. (There are more similar columns around the grounds.)

I was there on May 13th.

3346 East Arroyo Chico

Pots on mailbox posts are nothing unusual here in Tucson. This home, though (in the part of town just north of Reid Park, with large homes on curvy streets) had an unusual combination: a beautiful pot on a nicely-stuccoed post... and, next to it, a plain gray mailbox on a metal post.

Maybe it was under construction when I rolled by on May 13th? If you've seen the home since then and have an update, please leave a comment below or send me email. Thanks.

648 East 8th Street revisited

This mailbox, with its dark sort-of-metallic blue and a couple of handpainted designs, has a multicolored fence around it. I stopped by to gawk on May 11th... but lost track of the photo above. (Instead, on May 18th, I posted a fuzzy photo enlarged from the photo of the fence. It shows the very top of the mailbox, but not very clearly.)

If you'd like to see the fence, it's on today's Tucson Murals Project entry.

4041 East 32nd Street

I rode past this black mailbox — with deer a and a tree — on May 3.

4113 East Valentine Place

This arch-shaped mailbox (at the right) has matching arches in the background.

I rode by (amazed...) on May 3rd.

4218 East Valentine Street

This worn black mailbox has scrolls and loops in its post.

I spotted it on May 3rd.

(PS: I've been very busy recently, so I haven't posted as often as I usually would. I'm hoping that soon life will slow down enough to get back to the boxes!)

4360 East 32nd Street

This white mailbox has a handpainted house number and design. I found it on May 3rd.