National Postal Museum - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

See also The British Postal Museum & Archive
The British Postal Museum & Archive
The British Postal Museum & Archive is the leading resource for all aspects of the history of the British postal system. It operates three sites: The Royal Mail Archive at Mount Pleasant sorting office in Clerkenwell, London, a Museum Store in Loughton, Essex and The Museum of the Post Office in...

, formerly known as the National Postal Museum.

The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station

Union Station

Union Station, Union Terminal, Union Depot, or Union Passenger Station may refer to:-Film and music:* Union Station , a 1950 film* Union Depot , a 1932 film...

in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, USA, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

and the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

and opened in 1993. The museum

Postal Museum

There are museums for postal organisations and the worldwide postal system:-Egypt:*, Cairo-United States of America:*Smithsonian National Postal Museum*, Marshall, Michigan-- second largest postal museum in U.S.*, originally at 127 N Main St, Delphos, Ohio...

is located across the street from Union Station, in the building that once served as the Main Post Office

Postal Square Building

The Postal Square Building served as the main post office for the city of Washington, D.C., from the building's completion in 1914 to 1986. It now houses the National Postal Museum, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, offices of the United States Senate, and a Capital City Brewery restaurant...

of Washington, D.C. from 1914, when it was constructed, until 1986. The building was designed by the Graham and Burnham architectural firm, which was led by Ernest Graham

Ernest R. Graham (architect)

Ernest Robert Graham was an American architect from Chicago. He was the co-founder of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. He designed the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Equitable Building in in New York City...

following the death of Daniel Burnham

Daniel Burnham

Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...

in 1912.

The museum houses many interactive displays about the history of the United States Postal Service and of mail service around the world. Also on display is a vast collection of stamps

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

. The museum houses a gift shop and a separate stamp shop, along with exhibits on the Pony Express

Pony Express

The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...

, the use of railroads with the mail, and even an exhibit on direct marketing

Direct marketing

Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...

called, "What's in the Mail for You," that produces a souvenir envelope with your name printed on it and a coupon for the gift shop. As a Smithsonian museum, admission is free.

Since 2002 the museum has presented the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award

Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award

The Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Awards is a biennial honor presented by the United States National Postal Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The award is designed to recognize individuals for "...outstanding lifetime accomplishments in the field of philately...

every two years. In September 2009, the museum received a $8 million gift from investment firm founder William H. Gross to help finance the expansion of the museum. The building also serves as the headquarters of the United States Department of Labor

United States Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...

's Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and...

External links

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