|
Ladies Delivery Windows
|
| bet | 1/5 | | Sana | 22.07.2021 | | Hajmi | 5,51 Mb. | | #15686 |
Ladies Delivery Windows
Ladies delivery windows — special counters reserved for women picking up their mail — operated in some U.S. Post Offices from at least the 1830s through the early 1900s.
During the nineteenth century, many Americans believed that women were fragile creatures, needing protection from interaction with the rougher elements of society. Prior to the establishment of home delivery of mail, customers had to pick up their mail at the Post Office. In small towns, Post Offices were often in the homes or stores of trusted neighbors, but in large cities, visiting the Post Office required venturing into city streets and encountering men who were strangers. According to historian Richard John, women visiting urban Post Offices entered into an environment that was “a bastion of white male solidarity and an adjunct to the racially and sexually stratified world of politics and commerce.”(1)
In an attempt to prevent “timid females” from encountering “detention, rudeness and a thousand vexations” while picking up their mail, Post Offices in some cities had a special ladies delivery window dedicated to their use.(2) Other businesses also created separate areas for women. Some steamboats, railroad cars and libraries maintained segregated spaces, while special parlors for women and families were common in urban hotels.
The Post Office building designs of Ammi Burnham Young, the first Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department (1852–1862), called for separate men’s and women’s windows and sometimes gender-segregated waiting areas and entrances.(3) In several cities, there was even a separate window designated for men picking up letters for women.
|
| |
