Marvelous Meyer #1: 555 South

For some reason, neighbors on this block have some fun mailboxes by their doors. (The Barrio Viejo is a creative part of town.) On the left side of this door is the house number:

The mailbox is on the door itself:

I walked through this artistic block on January 12, 2017.

The next mailbox in the series will be on the blog August 29th.

2908 East 18th Street

The mailbox matches the colors of the window and door of the house. Here's the other side:

I took the photos on December 22, 2016.

4364 East 4th Street

This arch-shaped mailbox post is turquoise colored, covered with colored tiles. There's a matching tile serape on the wall.

There are actually four mailboxes inside:

I spotted it as I was driving down nearby Catalina Avenue, looking for art that I heard was there. (I didn't find it.)

1725 South Oak Park Drive

Someone did an incredible amount of detail work to turn a mailbox into an old jalopy, then mount it on a saguaro “post”! The flag is hooked to the left front wheel (see above).

David Aber rolled by this contraption on April 24th.

9162 East Creek Street

Those desert scenes with saguaro, mountains, and a sunset (or sunrise?) are from David Aber on April 24th.

8649 East Woodland Road

You probably aren't surprised that David Aber named this “Horsebox.”

To make this even better, here's the other side — with a real horse in the background:

He sent these photos on April 19th, which is the same day that his camera says he took them. Thanks!

Update (March 12, 2021): Four blocks east is Theraputic Riding of Tucson, with lots of horses — and horse murals. (Click there to see it on the Tucson Murals Project blog.)

8401 East Sarnoff Place

That mailbox is one of the type you can't pin down exactly. David Aber (who sent the photos on April 13th) saw it as a truck. When I saw it, the ladder reminded me first of a fire truck. (Also see the bulb on the roof: is it a flashing "emergency" light? There's another view in the photo below.) But, hmmmmm, could the curved bar above the wheels have something to do with a railroad caboose? Whatever: You can see that I obviously have too much time on my hands.;-)

Here's a view from the other side:

7218 East Sylvane Drive

We usually don't show saguaro mailboxes/posts here. But, as David Aber wrote: “Its sheer size and gaping maw caught my attention.”

I got curious what was in the "maw"… so I zoomed his photo in to that part:

He sent the photos on April 13th, which is also the day that I think he took them. Great sleuthing, Dave!

8232 East Brent Place

David Aber told me recently that, when he's headed somewhere, he takes different routes each time he can. That explains why he finds so many amazing mailboxes! (That's good advice for anyone — not just in a car, but especially on a bike. Side streets are probably safer and often more interesting.)

For obvious reasons, David calls this "Chainbox". He wrote: “I’ve seen a lot of creative ways to make a mailbox post, but never with a chain this large. It had to come from an enormous piece of equipment.”

(Then there's the rusted plow in the background that's been made to look like a bird.) His photo of the other side of the box is similar, without the bird.

He sent the photo on April 13th — the same date his camera's data says that he took it. Thanks!

5212 East 2nd Street

David Aber took these two views of a beautiful mailbox he spotted. Even better, he made the montage above. (Thank you!)

Normally, Google only allows us to show fairly small photos (800 pixels on either side). As an experiment, I've tried putting David's original-sized photo (3853x2806 pixels) online at TucsonArt.info. It's just the raw photo file, nothing fancy. When you click below, the photo should open in a new tab or window. Depending on your web browser, you may see the whole photo squeezed to fit your screen, or just some of the photo. (If you see just some, look for a "zoom" setting.) When you're done viewing, just close that window or tab. Here it is:

Very large version of the photo above

If you have any problems with this large image, please let me know. (You can use the comment form on TucsonArt.info.) If I don't hear of any problems, I may try this with future mailboxes. Thanks.

4828 North Placita Pajarillo

Back on October 3, 2016, Emily Mann of SolAZ.biz sent these photos of a new mailbox she'd designed and built:

She wrote:

I just installed a new mailbox with a solar-lighted base. It is on my side of town off of Snyder and Catalina Hwy. … I may be taking the integrated solar panel off and planting it away from the box. The owner thinks they may like it better that way.

Doesn’t the post look cool lit up?! There is an orange/red piece of glass in the top filtering the light.

Thanks for sharing your work, Emily. Everyone else: If you are (or know someone who is) a mailbox designer, I'd be glad to take photos and show them — or to publish your photos, as I did with these from Emily. The main requirement is that the mailbox be one-of-a-kind, not mass-produced.

Rancho Linda Vista in Oracle

One hightlight of the annual Oracle Artist Studio Tour is Rancho Linda Vista. There are lots of artists — as in much of the rest of Oracle. We don't usually show mailboxes outside of Tucson, of course, but this one isn't that far away — especially for art lovers…

I'm not sure they use it anymore.

2801 North Cloverland Avenue

If you're like me, you think of a flowerpot sitting on top of flagstone, don't you? David Aber found this mailbox that turns the idea upside-down: a mailbox and post, covered partly in flagstone, sitting on top of a pot of flowers.

David said that he didn't photograph the other side because it didn't have any flagstone.

The photo is from January 31, 2017. Thanks for the puzzle, Dave!

2122 East Virginia Street

Here's Speedy Gonzales from the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in the 1950s and 60s. I cropped the original large photo to make the closeup below.

This is the third of three photos David Aber sent back on August 14, 2016. Thanks a lot, Dave, and sorry for the delay getting them online!

2201 East Virginia Street

Here's another one of David Aber's finds on August 14, 2016. The family name on the box is Angulo:

5361 South Aleppo Drive

I normally don't show saquaro-themed mailboxes on this blog, but there always are exceptions.

This is one of them.

First, here's a shot of the whole mailbox, top to bottom, by David Aber.

I cropped that photo (which is actually a lot bigger; I sharnk it for the blog). Here's just the top half:

It even has a saguaro-shaped flag. (See it hidden between the right arm and the mailbox?

This is the first of three boxes David found on August 14, 2016. (Somehow I missed finding them until I decided, back in February, to check every photo he ever sent me.)

6942 East Calle Neptuno

On May 19, 2016, David Aber took several mailbox photos in the neighborhood south of 22nd, between Wilmot and Kolb, where streets are named for stars — like Calle Dened and Avenue Ursa. (Why not Avenida Ursa, to go with Calle (whatever)? No one asked me.)

Anyway, Dave calls this one the Road Runner Box, for obvious reasons.

At the left edge of the photo above, you can see more birds on the wall of the home. This time, they're quail. I grabbed this section of the photo before I blurred the background around the mailbox — to make the mailbox stand out. (As usual, I used my favorite free Photoshop-like editor, GIMP.)

Classic correos in Guanajuato, Mexico

If you follow the Tucson Murals Project blog, you probably saw yesterday's entry Mural-rich street in Guanajuato, México. That door shown above is near the uphill end of this tiny street (not big enough to be a calle, it's a callejon). Instead of a box or a slot that drops letters to a drier spot inside, there's just a bright polished metal correos (mail) slot that drops letters down to street level. (Maybe the letter carrier has some plastic grocery bags handy for rainy days?)

I wandered by on March 11, 2017.

4149 East Holmes Street

As David Aber mentioned with his August 11, 2016 photos, the “post” on this pinkish mailbox is pretty standard for Tucson. I think what might have caught his eye is the ironwork around the mailbox itself. All of that turquoise (literally) stands out.

Having an animal-shaped flag, like the coyote you can see below, is also pretty common. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

My usual thanks, Dave, for helping keep the boxes online! I'm still trying to get enough free time to find more mailboxes for this (volunteer-run) blog.

Update: Oops, this mailbox is also shown in the February 14, 2014 entry.

7209 East Calle Cuernavaca

On August 11, 2016, David Aber found another Doozy!

He wrote: “At first, I wasn’t sure that it really was a mailbox. So, I looked at it very closely. The face is hinged at the bottom for access to the inside. So, yes, it is a mailbox. It’s also one of the strangest I’ve run across. It looks like an insect with a human face. Also, the yard is full of metal sculptures.”

Next is a closeup of the top of the other side.

Someone has a good imagination!

Google Maps wasn't able to find it, but to see the location on Bing Maps, click there.

1934 South Avenida Planeta

About this wild yard, David Aber wrote: “The first photo is the mailbox by itself. The second photo shows the steampunk motorcycle behind it.”

The owner must have quite a sense of humor! David took the photos and sent them (thanks!) on July 31, 2016.

Update (March 8, 2019): David Aber, who took the photos above, was in that neighborhood just recently. He added: “…you included a photograph of a steampunk motor cycle in the yard behind the mailbox. The homeowner has added to, and repainted, the motorcycle. I now call it "Snoopy and Friend". I've also included the line "I'm going up the country babe, don't you wanna go?" from the song "Going Up The Country" by Canned Heat.

4385 North Paseo Rancho

This box with bugs has white insects and flowers over a teracotta background. I buzzed by (and landed, for a minute!) (sorry :) on October 22nd.

7101 East Port Au Prince Place

Here's another of the gems that David Aber found: Snoopy on top of a doghouse mailbox. He took the photo July 27th.

How do you find so many amazing mailboxes, Dave? (Thanks from all of us on this blog!)

3119 East Terra Alta Boulevard

David Aber caught this bright-colored desert-scene mailbox on July 13th, 2016. Next time we'll see another of the boxes he's found.

4190 West Speedway Boulevard

On the way to (or from) Gates Pass October 22nd, this pinkish mailbox with a red spot on top caught my eye. Of course, I pulled over. ;-)

1421 North Painted Hills Road

I drove past this abstract blue and white mailbox when I was on one of the fall 2016 Artists’ Open Studios tours. It wasn't at one of the artists’ homes, but the box is artistic, eh?

This year, there were tours spread over four weekend toursr. I took these photos on October 22nd.

Australia's Ten Quirkiest Letterboxes

David Aber reeled this one in: He found a photo of a piranha mailbox in Australia. David wrote to suggest that I post it. After all, he pointed out, when I'm traveling I sometimes show you mailboxes from outside Tucson. Okay, out of the water!, everyone!!

(Dave wrote: “Must be a brave mailman that sticks his hand in this one!”)

I found the author and her ten photos. She (who goes by Jax) gave me permission to show the piranha — and any other photos from her Postie Notes blog — as long as I mention the blog. (If you love quirky mailboxes, don't miss it!) She said the piranha used to be her favourite quirky letterbox in Australia. (As David pointed out, Australians call them letterboxes instead of mailboxes.) (By the way, England calls them postboxes, and “the mail” is “the post”. I don't know what English people call the post under the postbox.)

Valentines to you, Jax, from mailbox lovers here in Tucson! (It may already be February 15th across the Date Line in Australia, but…)

Here's the October 23, 2014 Top Ten article from Jax (occasionally known as Jacqui Kennedy) on her Postie Notes blog:

www.postienotes.com.au/2014/10/australian-traveller-magazine.html

After you laugh at the letterboxes, scroll up to the blog header and click on “Mailboxes” for more hilarious, er, letterboxes. And try to find her new favourite (after 53,000 kilometres on her Postie Bike, and mentioning something about an electron microscope), look for (apologies) the dead cat.

As Jax says, she likes to “push the envelope.”