4010 East Palomar Drive

This handpainted silver and black mailbox has a crazy critter flag:

I took its photos on April 28th.

4012 East Cooper Street

It turns out that this mailbox — in a large white brick post with plants on top — isn't as unique as I thought it was when I snapped its photo on April 28th:

(As I've ridden my bicycle around Tucson, I've discovered a number of similar big posts with plants. This is one of the biggest! Still, I'm going to add “mailboxes with plants on top” to the “Not these mailboxes” list.)

4220 East Whittier Street

On April 28th, I flew by this black mailbox... with a lacy vine wrapped around it and a cardinal-shaped flag.

(By the way, you may have seen this box before. I originally posted it on June 19th. I've just moved it to appear on June 25th.)

4042 East Cooper Street

This black mailbox is surrounded by railroad gear... and there's a windvane on top!

I rolled by it on April 28th.

4051 East Calle De Jardin

On April 28, I found this brown mailbox with three kinds of cactus (cut from a sheet of metal and painted white) on top.

4032 East Calle De Jardin

This rusty black mailbox is mounted on an Oriental-looking (maybe Japanese?) post of brown with yellow panels inside.

I found it on April 28th.

4022 East Calle De Jardin

A grey mailbox with a sort of prickly pear “sunrise” between its posts:

3934 East Calle De Jardin

This black mailbox has hand-painted blue flowers and butterflies:

I found it on April 28th.

237 South Calle de Madrid

A bright copper mailbox with a copper flower on each side, at 237 S. Calle de Madrid, on April 28:

219 South El Volador

This house-shaped mailbox (complete down to — or, I guess, up to) its little chimney — could use some maintenance.

(I know a great house painter, by the way! Shameless plug there: Paint Masterz LLC is a client of mine.)

This is one of many creative mailboxes (and murals, and more) in this art-filled corner of Tucson.

(In case you don't recognize it, the red-orange box on the side is for newspapers.)

4202 East Calle El Centro

This mailbox is in a stuccoed post... and that's not unusual for Tucson. But it has two address plaques, in different styles... and that's unusual.

I rode around it, at 4202 East Calle El Centro, on April 25th.

4260 East Calle De Madrid

This bright blue mailbox — which I found on April 25th — rests on three posts that remind me of something you'd see at a port or a dock. (I'm no sailor. Do you know the word for this type of arrangement? Please leave a comment below. You can remain anonymous if you'd like.)

(In case you're curious about the Sunday date on a post that appeared Tuesday morning: The last couple of days have been really busy. I'll try to catch up on posts today and tomorrow.)

220 South Calle de la Azucena

This rust-colored mailbox has an unusual red flag. [If you've got a guess (or better) what it represents, please leave a comment below! (You can remain anonymous if you'd like to.)]

I spotted it April 25th on the northwest corner with Columbus & across the street from yesterday's box.

225? South Calle de la Azucena

What kind of contraption is that gray mailbox mounted on? I took a close-up that gave a clue:

When I did some searching for LDE New World Standard Series, I found a bunch of references to cream separators.

Here's one page from Doug & Linda's Dairy Antique Site that shows quite a few similar gadgets: Cream Separators Page 2.

It's in front of an unnumbered house on the southwest corner of Calle de la Azucena & Columbus. (Google Maps says the address there is 225, but I think it might be 227.) I found it on April 25th.

4260 East Whittier Street

This white mailbox has a polished propellor as its "post." I flew past it on April 25th.

(By the way, this photo has no geotag. If you aren't used to locating something from its street address, just type that address into your search box.)

4220 East Timrod Street

The white mailbox has a black post with a disc and quail in the middle.

I spotted it on April 25th.

4236 East Marion Trail

Though the Native American-type design on this black mailbox looks to me like it might have been mass-produced, it's nicely done, isn't it?

The box was along my epic art-finding bicycle route on April 25th.

1125 South Longfellow Avenue

This red mailbox with lattice posts was the next one on my lucky art-finding ride of April 25th.

114 South Calle El Centro

This gray mailbox is one of the strangest I've seen, with its angular post and some kind of critter on top. Any guesses what it is? (If you have an idea, please leave a comment below... you can remain anonymous if you'd like to.)

I discovered it April 25th.

4240 East Cooper Street

On April 25th, I rode through the artsy neighborhood with this rust-finished mailbox. It has translucent numbers on top and a saguaro-shaped flag, as well as a unique scroll of partly-bent metal underneath.

Only in Tucson, eh?

4066 East Hayne Street

This white mailbox has black spots and what looks to me like remnants of an old colorful design:

I took the photos on April 25th.

4150 East Camino De Palmas

On April 25th, I came across this singed-looking mailbox inside a welded metal frame. The house number is painted on the concrete post.

Has it seen better days?

4201 East Cooper Street

I found this ornate black mailbox on April 25th.

230 South El Volador

One side of the mailbox shows a collie. The other has a cat flag. On the ground are quail.


I spotted this gem April 25th in the middle of its art-filled neighborhood.

517 North Cherokee Avenue

This mailbox, with a blue-and-white striped "post," is at Torre Fuerte. I found it on April 12th.

516 North Cherokee Avenue

Welcome, all of you... and especially, today, listeners from this morning's Fred and Jeff Show. I'll be a guest on the second half of their show this morning — and (later) in a podcast you can hear online. First, here's a mailbox photo for you. Then, some tips to help you find mailboxes on this blog.

This black mailbox, on a brick post, is covered with multicolored rocks (like its surroundings).

Now, about this blog. If you're wondering why I ever started taking photos of mailboxes, have a look at About Tucson Mailbox Art (or click on its tab at the top of every page). I don't show every unique-looking mailbox I find, though. You can read why — and get a list of these “boring” mailboxes — in Not these mailboxes (or by clicking its tab).

Some tips for finding mailboxes:

• A ways down the right column is the Blog Archive. There you can find earlier mailboxes — back to the date I started this blog, 12/12/12.
• Type an address or a street name, a color, or something else about the mailbox in the search box at the right side of any page on this blog.
• (By the way, the Popular mailboxes list in the right column tends to get out of whack when someone mentions a mailbox on some other blog or website... it may not be the most-viewed by art-lovers who visit this blog regularly.)
• Use one of the boxes near the the top of the right column to get an email message for each new mailbox or to follow our feed. (Here's a video intro to feeds — ignore the part about Google Reader; it's been shut down. For more useful info that you can read at your own pace, try RSS Feeds by About.com Guide Wendy Boswell.)

Thanks for stopping by! There are almost 170 mailboxes on this blog now, and I try to add a new one every day.

1120 West Sonora Street

This plain mailbox has a crooked brick post.

Since I found this one on April 12th, I've found a lot more like it. A lot of them tilt out toward the street. One is enough, I think! So I'll add this type of post to the Not these mailboxes list.

321 North Longfellow Avenue

At the end of our sometimes May series “mailboxes & murals,” here's the mailbox at this artsy home.

You can see the mural by clicking there to go to the Tucson Murals Project blog.

Stay cool this June!

3912 East Montecito Street

Since I found this green mailbox on March 29th, I've realized something about its stuccoed post with tiles on front. (It's at the home named Casa Fina, by the way.)

Though it's attractive, there are a lot of similar mailboxes around Tucson. (I begin to find “trends’ in our mailboxes as I discover more of them.) So I'll add this one to the Not these mailboxes list. (By the way, if you don't agree — and you'd like to see more of these — please leave a comment below or contact me in person.

4014 East Montecito Street

At first, this mailbox I spotted on March 29th looked like a white box on a black post surrounded by cinderblock. Then I looked more closely:


The box is topped by a cat and butterfly held on by a light blue band covered with cat footprints.

781 South Irving Avenue

On March 29th, I snapped this white mailbox with handpainted saguaro scenes:

721 South Bryant Avenue

I'm back in Tucson from a trip out of town with a computer that I found out was broken — but only after I'd left home. Time for more mailboxes!

When I rode by on March 29th, this mailbox was under construction (or re-construction). It's on a post made of cinderblock and brick, with a stack of pots on top. The owner told me he hasn't finished yet...

775 South Irving Avenue

As I wrote in Not these mailboxes, there are so many mailboxes with posts made of chains (welded together) that I usually don't show them. But this green mailbox has a chain post made of two chains... and that's different!

I rolled by it (and stopped) on March 29th.

4137 East Hayne Street (I think)

This black mailbox, with a couple of tiny saguaro painted at one corner, didn't seem to have a house number on it. But it was in front of the duplex at 4135-4137 E. Hayne, so I'm guessing that it's for 4137.

I took the photo on March 29th.

4067 East Santa Barbara Avenue

In front of the angelic mural that wraps around the front wall of this home (click there to see it on the Tucson Murals Project blog) is a white mailbox decorated with images in little rectangles — sort of like paintings hanging on the side of the box, or postcard scenes:

I've seen another similar mailbox somewhere around town. So this one may have been mass-produced. Even if it was, the mural is well worth a visit! (I visited on March 29th.)

230 South El Volador (and my 5 seconds of fame?)

On April 25, I was sitting by the side of the street, planning my route through this beautiful neighborhood with its winding streets. I'd snapped a photo of this green mailbox with a University of Arizona flag and a chain post (which we usually don't show, but the flag and the mailbox color made the difference here).

I looked up and saw a car with a tower on top. It was a Google Street View car. If you're really bored some day, click over to the Google Map of 230 South El Volador, click on Street View, and pan around to see if I got my five seconds of fame:

Update (December 29, 2014): I just ran across this blog entry and decided to check Google Street View. Sure enough, there I am. :)

648 East 8th Street

You can see a bit of a multicolored fence behind this black mailbox. (The whole fence is on the Tucson Murals Project blog in the entry titled Multicolored corner.) I'm not sure quite what the design is, but are those curved pieces of metal supposed to be insect antennae or something?

I buzzed by on May 11th.

Update (September 1, 2013): There's a clearer photo in today's entry.

4037 East 17th Street

We usually don't show mailboxes that are obviously mass-produced, but this one — with skulls, gears, and indicator dials — stands out:

I found it on March 29th.