If you ever get the urge to write a letter in the middle of Tilden Park in Orinda, CA, you’re in luck. The park has its own post office. However, you’ll have to keep an eye out for it, because it’s incredibly small.
It’s so small, in fact, that it’s located inside a hollow tree. The post office was installed in the park by Leafcutter Designs as a tribute to a writer who wrote an essay celebrating the company. The installation was a secret back in December 2013, and was never meant to last very long. It was set up like a doll house, with a chair, desk, lamp, and file cabinet for the tiny postmaster. When they checked the site of the installation in the following months, they found that it remained intact. Delighted, they stocked the post office with tiny letters that hikers could take as mementos.
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During the late winter through the spring, the post office was left to the fate of nature. The creators, busy with other things, wondered about the post office’s damage. When they returned in June, they were in for an even bigger surprise. Not only was the post office still intact, but it sported some additions! Over the past five months, hikers left trinkets and letters of their own in the post office. This included a postmaster for the office, Freddy the Field Mouse. (Freddy is actually a drawing by a small girl named Penelope, placed on the miniature chair.) Freddy became the de facto recipient of letters from hikers, and so the creators decided to carry on the correspondence.
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The Tilden Post Office is still up and running, and hikers are encouraged to take a letter and to leave one of their own. Hikers of all ages write letters to the wildlife and fairies, and the people at Leafcutter Designs are happy to carry on with the fantastical exchanges. The post office is constantly changing thanks to the contributions of hikers. If you’re in the Bay Area and have the urge to go for a stroll in the woods, we suggest Tilden Park. Look for the intersection of Wildcat Gorge and Curran Trails.
Via Laughing Squid
