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Paris Post Office

Coordinates: 35°17′39″N 93°43′47″W / 35.29417°N 93.72972°W / 35.29417; -93.72972
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Paris Post Office
Paris Post Office is located in Arkansas
Paris Post Office
Location in Arkansas
Paris Post Office is located in the United States
Paris Post Office
Location in United States
Location206 N. Elm St., Paris, Arkansas
Coordinates35°17′39″N 93°43′47″W / 35.29417°N 93.72972°W / 35.29417; -93.72972
Arealess than one acre
Built1938 (1938)
ArchitectJoseph P. Vorst, et al.
Architectural styleColonial Revival
MPSPost Offices with Section Art in Arkansas MPS
NRHP reference No.98000923[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 14, 1998

The Paris Post Office is located at 206 North Elm Street in downtown Paris, Arkansas. It is located in a modest Colonial Revival building, built in 1937 as part of a major federal building project. It is notable for the controversy over its interior artwork, which was funded by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts, and executed by Joseph P. Vorst. The murals proposed by Vorst depicted a raggedly dressed African-American with several skinny mules, approaching a tarpaper shack that appears to be the man's home. There was public outcry, with Vorst defending the depiction as an accurate rendition of the area during a visit he made. He then submitted an alternate drawing, which showed a stock farm, cotton gin, and other more benign imagery, which was accepted.[2]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "NRHP nomination for Paris Post Office". Arkansas Preservation. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
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