Signs were officially unveiled on Monday designating the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Kewen Avenue in Pacoima as Nancy C. Avery Square, honoring the first Black postmaster of a “first class” post office since Reconstruction.

Avery was the postmaster of the Pacoima Post Office from 1961 until her retirement in 1984. “First class” post offices are determined based on revenue, and in 1961 the Pacoima Post Office was among the 11.6% of the locations that qualified for that designation, according to the motion by Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez that designated the intersection in Avery’s honor.

Rodriguez said, “Nancy Avery was a woman who opened doors for everyone else to walk through. … Nancy Avery was known for her work in the NAACP, and in her role as Postmaster she made sure that continued access and opportunity for people of color was realized.”

Rodriguez added, “It’s so wonderful to enshrine and memorialize for generations to come the incredible and immense contributions that people have made from our own community. At a time when some in this country are attempting to erase our history, we will stand firm to preserve and protect it here in Pacoima, the San Fernando Valley, and throughout Los Angeles.”

Before her appointment by Postmaster General J. Edward Day, the only other Black postmasters had worked in small rural post offices, according to an obituary of Avery supplied by organizers of the event, citing information from the U.S. Postal Service.

Avery was also an active volunteer with the Democratic Party, and president of what is now the Board of Animal Services Commissioners. She died in 1992 at age 72.

The unveiling was conducted in connection with Black History Month, a spokesman for Rodriguez told City News Service.