Miniature #9 – Constructed 11/2023
Fun Facts
New England is dotted with historic post offices, from simple clapboard buildings to grand palaces. In the earliest days of European settlement, the mail was delivered to coffeehouses and taverns.
In 1673, mail delivery was improved with the creation of the Boston Post Road where post riders carried letters and transported travelers. The Continental Congress established the U.S. Postal Service shortly after declaring independence and before the Declaration of Independence was even signed.
New England is the site of the first post office and both the oldest and 2nd oldest continuously operating post office.
Description
Having a post office in Capetown was high on my build list and a welcome addition to the town. After the complexity of some of the previously built miniatures, I found this to be one of the easiest to design and build.
Capetown’s post office sits on a 12″x12″ plywood base. The overall piece stands at 9.5″ high and the time invested to design and build was approximately 40 hrs.
Materials Used
The interior was painted with acrylic paint and the floor was made with popsicle sticks stained a Golden Oak color. Old stamps were used on the walls as indicative of real post offices. Craft wood was used to build the desk.
The exterior was constructed with popsicle sticks and painted in a traditional red, white & blue scheme with acrylic paint. The gravel was sifted from sand and glued in place much like would be found in a small town.
The flag was added as a standard to every post office I have even seen. The roof shingles were made from black cardstock paper, sprayed with textured spray paint, and cut by hand to resemble realistic roof shingles.
