ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Post Office Murals

Hey kiddo, have you ever seen a really cool painting on the wall of a post office? Those are called post office murals! They were created a long time ago to make people happy and proud of their communities.

So, once upon a time, America was going through a really tough time called the Great Depression. Lots of people didn't have jobs, and things were really hard. To help cheer people up, the government hired artists to create beautiful murals on the walls of post offices all over the country.

These artists wanted to show off the unique and special things about each community. They painted things like farmers working in the fields, schoolchildren playing, and all sorts of other scenes that showed how wonderful and important each place was.

The murals were really special because they weren't just pretty pictures – they were also a way to give struggling artists jobs, and to make people feel good about where they lived. Over 1,000 post offices got a mural, and a lot of them are still there today!

So, the next time you go to the post office with your parents, see if you can spot a mural on the wall. Maybe it will be a picture of your town or something else that makes you smile!