The La Jolla Post Office will commemorate its 75th anniversary with an old-fashioned celebration on Sept. 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. at its location on 1140 Wall St. The United States Postal Service and the La Jolla Historical Society have joined forces for the occasion, which is free to the public. Festivities will include the unveiling of a commemorative brass plaque and insider tours of the post office’s rear quarters and its notable Belle Baranceanu mural, said Janet Evans, the event chairman whose father worked at the post office for 30 years. “I remember during World War II, as a small child, visiting my father at the post office,” Evans said. “My mother would lift me up so I could look through the grillwork and wave to Daddy.” While La Jolla has grown and changed over the years, Evans — whose grandfather first moved to the area in 1924 when he was hired to build the La Valencia Hotel — said the post office remains a local icon, steadfastly anchored to past traditions. “The post office has been a meeting place for this community all my life,” she said. Guests at the celebration will also be treated to birthday cake and lemonade, along with a flag ceremony by La Jolla’s Boy Scout Troop 4, patriotic music, historical displays and a special cancellation of commemorative stamped envelopes. Several community leaders are included in the event program. La Jolla Postmaster Jeff Olsen will welcome guests and La Jolla Historical Society President Connie Mullin Branscomb will serve as mistress of ceremonies. District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner will read a proclamation. In light of the celebration, Wall Street will be closed to traffic on Sept. 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. from Ivanhoe Avenue to the alley between Ivanhoe and Herschel Avenue. The La Jolla Historical Society has implemented a corresponding exhibit, “Postmark La Jolla: History of the U.S. Postal Service in La Jolla,” which is on display through Nov. 8 at the Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect St. The exhibit accompanies the society’s fall lecture series, “History of the U.S. Postal Service in La Jolla.” The first lecture was held Aug. 26 and the second will take place on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Wisteria Cottage. Bram Dijkstra, Ph.D. and emeritus professor of literature at the University of California, San Diego will deliver a lecture titled “Belle Baranceanu, the Public Works of Art Project and the La Jolla Post Office Mural.” The final lecture will be held Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Wisteria Cottage with architectural historian Diane Kane, Ph.D., on “The La Jolla Post Office: Architectural Icon of the Depression Era.” Tickets for the lectures are $10 for society members and $12 for nonmembers. Call (858) 459-5335 or visit www.lajollahistory.org for reservations and information.
