National Postal Museum

The National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the primary postal museum of the United States. It covers large portions of the postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Premises

The museum is located in the building that served as the main post office of Washington, D.C. for decades, from its construction in 1914 until 1986. The building was designed by the Graham and Burnham architectural firm, which was led by Ernest Graham following the death of Daniel Burnham in 1912.<ref>Weeks, Christopher. (1994) AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (3rd Edition), Johns Hopkins University Press. Template:ISBN.</ref> The headquarters of the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics is based in this building, and there is also space for a data center for the United States Senate. It is located across the street from Washington Union Station.

Displays

The museum's atrium features vehicles used to deliver mail throughout the history of the USPS, including planes, trains and automobiles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Historical exhibits guide visitors through the postal service's inception and expansion, as well as its role in significant national events such as World War II.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Systems at Work" explores historic and current technologies involved in mail processing and delivery, such as message boxes, ZIP codes, optical scanners and conveyor systems.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The museum holds the National Philatelic Collection. The museum has a gift shop and a United States Postal Service philatelic sales window. Admission is free.

In 2005, the museum acquired the childhood stamp collection of the late singer/songwriter John Lennon.<ref>John Lennon's First Album. Template:Webarchive Owen Edwards, Smithsonian.com, September 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2016.</ref> From June 2015 until December 2019, the museum displayed the 1856 British Guiana 1c magenta, the world's most valuable stamp, which sold for nearly $10 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In September 2009, the museum received an $8 million gift from investment firm founder William H. Gross to help finance an expansion project. The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery of the museum is named in his honor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Events

Since 2002, the museum has presented the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award every two years.

Gallery

• National Postal Museum opening sign IMG 4356.JPG

  Opening sign for dedication of the National Postal Museum

• Stagecoach exhibit, National Postal Museum IMG 4368.JPG

  Mail-carrying stagecoach at National Postal Museum

• Air mail plane at National Postal Museum IMG 4373.JPG

  Air-mail plane anchored from the ceiling at the National Postal Museum

• Dead letter exhibit, National Postal Museum IMG 4367.JPG

  Dead letters exhibit at Postal Museum

• National Postal Museum poster IMG 4357.JPG

  Museum poster extolling value of postal delivery

• John Lennon's stamp collection.jpg

  John Lennon's childhood stamp collection

See also

• List of philatelic libraries
• Mission-based learning
• Owney (dog)
• U.S. Postal Museums
• Postal Museum

External links

• Template:Official website
• National Postal Museum Library Official website
• Smithsonian's National Postal Museum at Google Cultural Institute