Today's new adventure was found in Oceanside. This beach city is less than an hour from our home yet seemingly worlds away in history and interesting things to do.
Our first stop was at Heritage Park Village, a place which provides a look into the history and culture of Oceanside in the mid-1890s. We never knew about this place until recently (thank you Brady). We will definitely be returning.The plaque that welcomed us reads, "This park has been constructed and dedicated by the citizens of Oceanside, California as a lasting memorial to the American Revolution Bicentennial and is intended to reflect the early day city which had its start not far from this site by old Mission San Luis Rey. Dedicated July 4, 1976."
A true highlight of our morning was a visit with the members of the North County Model Railroad Society.
The HO Scale miniature railroad represents a main line that operates from San Diego, north to Oceanside, then inland to Fallbrook, through Temecula Canyon and beyond. Incredible. For locals, you'll see some amazingly familiar buildings in these images. Wow. We plan to return to see the trains run. TOOT TOOT.Our next stop was at this exceptional post office, a Works Progress Administration project. The WPA was responsible for building Oceanside’s first permanent Post Office in 1935.This historic building also contains two projects commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, which like the Federal Arts Project, provided murals and other art forms to decorate public buildings. A beautiful 16' x 6' mural of the San Luis Rey Valley and its Mission, titled Air Mail by Elise Seeds hangs in the lobby (above). It is estimated that there are only 900 to 1,000 of the original WPA masterpieces left. Every year murals are lost due to the closing or sale of post offices or outright negligence. My dream trip would be to travel the country finding all the Post Office Murals that remain, before they are gone forever.
The second commissioned project is this carved wooden eagle and grille over the front entrance which was done by sculptor and actor, Stuart Holmes. I wonder how many postal customers look up at Mr. Holmes' work as they enter the post office. On a return trip, I'll have to check it out. Fun day. More about our Oceanside sojourn tomorrow.
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