Captiva Island’s old Post Office box, which has long reflected the island’s colorful personality, is now part of its history.
The Captiva Island Historical Society recently paid tribute to the unique mailbox by marking it with an official historical plaque. The box had served islanders and visitors for nearly two decades.
In 1999, during one of his many stays on the island, artist Lauri Kaihlanen from Rockport, Massachusetts was asked to decorate the mailbox. It became a piece of art that captured the tropical beauty of the island. Some have said it was the only one in the U.S. postal system with a distinct personality.
That all changed last October, when the U.S. Postal Service ordered the island branch to take the iconic mailbox out of service and replace it with a regulation blue mailbox.
Its new location is in the garden of the Captiva Post Office, where additional landscaping will soon make it look like a well-placed art installation. The goal is to have it displayed as a piece of living art and an enduring testimonial to Captiva’s colorful history.
If you’d like to see the unique mailbox in person (note that the mail deposit areas on the box have been sealed so that it will not be mistakenly used as a working mailbox), visit the Captiva Post Office at 14812 Captiva Drive.
For more information about the CIHS, visit www.captivaislandhistoricalsociety.org.
