Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
(Sad) Mailbox news from Michigan
This article is from the Arizona Daily Star on August 5th:
Community mourns Michigan man who waved at passers-by
Mailboxes are more than the kind of art we show here. Like (the slowly disappearing) post offices, they can be places for people to stay in touch with each other.
Community mourns Michigan man who waved at passers-by
Mailboxes are more than the kind of art we show here. Like (the slowly disappearing) post offices, they can be places for people to stay in touch with each other.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Air mail in Idaho
I used to do a lot of road trips. Back then, in the days when folks could pay extra to send a letter by Air Mail, quite a few families put Air Mail boxes sky-high as a joke. Here's one east of Filer, Idaho. I didn't get an exact address, but it's on US Highway 30 near the junction with US 93.
I was cruising by on May 14, 1976.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
2444 North Orchard Avenue
The next three mailboxes are in two blocks of Orchard Avenue between Grant and Glenn.
This is one side of the box at 2444. It's painted green, blue and white, and mounted on a piece of wood over a steel plate. The post is a brighter, more saturated blue.
But that's not all. The mailbox is painted in the style of the walls that run between the home's front yard and the street:
I took photos of the mailboxes on April 25th. We'll see the next one, a bit north, next week.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
2851 North Beverly Avenue (Uncle Sam)
Here's our Independence Day special edition: a mailbox with Uncle Sam along the post. I found it on my April 18th Mailbox Mission.
By the way, last week Monica Surfaro tweeted about a story on Uncle Sam.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Santa Fe double-header
I'm on the road for much of June. At one campsite, one of the few radio stations I could get was a sports station with lots of baseball games. When I got to Santa Fe — a city full of art — on Sunday, I started to see lots of artistic mailboxes. The two-headed mailbox below made me think of a two-game series with the same team… a double-header:
OK, that analogy is stretching things. :)
By the way: Last week's entry showed two mailboxes, too.
Next week, we (this blog and I) will be back to Tucson mailboxes.
OK, that analogy is stretching things. :)
By the way: Last week's entry showed two mailboxes, too.
Next week, we (this blog and I) will be back to Tucson mailboxes.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
9201 East Indio Place
I'm trying to imagine what a new letter carrier might think upon seeing this bewilderingly fun mailbox for the first time. Rube Goldberg, maybe?
John Benedict made it. The photos are his, too. Thanks!
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
4526 East Duncan Street
When I photograph mailboxes, I don't ring the owner's doorbell or do anything else to get the story of the box — unless I see a resident, or they see me. (As you'd guess, people who see me taking photos of their mailbox tend to walk over and ask what the heck I'm doing.)
On April 18th, I was visiting artists' open studios on the twice-yearly tour. On my way to one of the studios, I passed by a mailbox with plants in front of mountains topped by clouds:
The gate next to the mailbox was open and a man walked out. So I went over to chat and ask if I could photograph the mailbox. He was glad to talk; he told me some of the story. It was painted by an artist named Jessica Lemar who now lives in Colorado. Cars have run into the mailbox a couple of times, but he's kept putting it back up. He put me in touch with Jessica, and she told me about her Facebook page named ArtOrBust. She does a lot of nice work!
Some day I'd like to send postcards to mailbox owners, with my photo of their box, to ask the story of the mailbox and who made it. It's nice when happenstance lets me get the story as I take the photo.
On April 18th, I was visiting artists' open studios on the twice-yearly tour. On my way to one of the studios, I passed by a mailbox with plants in front of mountains topped by clouds:
The gate next to the mailbox was open and a man walked out. So I went over to chat and ask if I could photograph the mailbox. He was glad to talk; he told me some of the story. It was painted by an artist named Jessica Lemar who now lives in Colorado. Cars have run into the mailbox a couple of times, but he's kept putting it back up. He put me in touch with Jessica, and she told me about her Facebook page named ArtOrBust. She does a lot of nice work!
Some day I'd like to send postcards to mailbox owners, with my photo of their box, to ask the story of the mailbox and who made it. It's nice when happenstance lets me get the story as I take the photo.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
802 South 8th Avenue?
Last week, David Aber sent me a photo of a mailbox he'd photographed (according to the datestamp imbedded in the photo file) June 9, 2012, at the corner of 18th Street & 8th Avenue. Since that's a while ago, and because there wasn't an exact street address, I drove over to find the box and look for an address.
I found the box, and it's just as in Dave's photo. I didn't find a street address. But the next home south was at 806 South 8th. So I tried both 800 and 802 in Google Maps. The Location box here in Blogger couldn't find either street address, or even the corner of 18th & 8th.
But here's a map link from Bing Maps.
And what is on top of the box?
If you know, please leave a comment below.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
4652 East North Street
(Yes, really: East North Street. Just a couple of blocks east of this spot, south of Grant, are North Farwest Drive, North West Drive, North Midwest Drive, North Mideast Drive, North East Drive, and East South Drive. C’mon, Tucson street namers, this is almost as bad as addresses in Utah like 400 East 400 South. Say what?? :)
Anyway, this little one-block stub of North East Street — just west of Swan — has one of the most fun mailboxes I've seen so far. It's painted white with red lines, to look like a barn. The black post is covered by bright red suspension springs. On top is a piece of steel with the owners’ names cut out by what I'd guess is a welding torch...
Just across the street is one of my favorite hidden Tucson murals.
I ducked into North Street to check my map for a bicycle tour I'm planning to lead during the spring Artists’ Open Studios with Bike Fest 2015. I was there on March 21st.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
11745 East Summer Trail
This unique fish-shaped box with a rusty iron finish was made by custom metalworker Solaz:
Their website is solaz.biz, and the site shows more mailboxes. I took the photo on November 9th.
Update (April 16, 2015): The artist, Emily Mann, wrote (on another blog entry; I've moved it here): “Hi. Thanks for coming by during Open Studio Tours. I've just installed a new mailbox in Shadow hills with a Tree of Life theme, embellished rusted steel with brushed clean steel and decorative post. --it's welded on and concreted in quite securely! I've just added it to my webpage, solaz.biz and would invite you to go check it out for real.”
Their website is solaz.biz, and the site shows more mailboxes. I took the photo on November 9th.
Update (April 16, 2015): The artist, Emily Mann, wrote (on another blog entry; I've moved it here): “Hi. Thanks for coming by during Open Studio Tours. I've just installed a new mailbox in Shadow hills with a Tree of Life theme, embellished rusted steel with brushed clean steel and decorative post. --it's welded on and concreted in quite securely! I've just added it to my webpage, solaz.biz and would invite you to go check it out for real.”
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
3130 North Soldier Trail
It's 2015 and I'm back on my bicycle hunting for mailboxes:
That rusted bike between the posts of a mailbox isn't actually mine, of course; it's missing the seat, handlebars and tires. I drove by (in a car) on November 9th, along the route of the 2014 fall Artists Open Studios tour in far northeast Tucson.
That rusted bike between the posts of a mailbox isn't actually mine, of course; it's missing the seat, handlebars and tires. I drove by (in a car) on November 9th, along the route of the 2014 fall Artists Open Studios tour in far northeast Tucson.
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