Post Offices Sites

The old downtown post office and federal building in Long Beach, CA, was built in large part under the New Deal, contrary to the date and name on the cornerstone. The building was planned and started under the Hoover Administration and the cornerstone laid in late 1932, but before construction was far along, the Long Beach earthquake hit in March 1933. There is some dispute over whether the quake did major damage to the unfinished structure.  Certainly, everything had to be checked out and some damaged material removed before construction could resume.  The building opened in September 1934. The design is Classical...

The historic post office building in downtown Panama City, Florida was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. Construction started in 1937 and the building was dedicated on April 29, 1938.

The old Main Post Office for San Diego, now the Downtown Station post office, was constructed with Treasury Department funds and houses Archibald Garner's 1937 sculpture, "Transportation of the Mail," produced under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic downtown post office in San Jose, California was constructed in 1933. It is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The historic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Station post office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was constructed in 1938 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building is still in service.

The historic East Boston Station post office was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1939. The post office contains New Deal murals.

The historic East Portland Station post office was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1936. The post office houses New Deal artwork.

The old downtown post office – officially, the Federal Building – was built in 1933 by the Treasury Department in Modesto, California.  The project has a long pre-history and was to be built as part of a sweeping catalogue of federal buildings around the country in the 1920s.  It finally got underway in the early 1930s.  The design was drawn up in the Treasury Department in 1931 and bids for construction were advertised in late 1932.  The contract awarded to Murch Brothers Construction Company of St. Louis, a large firm that built several other post offices around the country. The project was continued as...

Created for the former Everett branch post office, the mural "Mail for New England" is an example of New Deal artwork. Painted by Stephen Etnier, and completed in 1940, the work has since been relocated to Boston's Back Bay post office. Jimmy Emerson: "When the Everett post office building was sold in the 1970s, the mural was removed, rolled up and stored where it suffered water damage. It was discovered in 2005 and restored. It was installed in the Back Bay post office in Boston in 2009."

The F. Edward Hebert Federal Building was built from 1935 to 1939 and is still in use. At the time it was built, the Treasury Department was responsible for all federal buildings. Formerly home to the New Orleans Main Post Office, the building still houses a post office station inside.  It is decorated by three groups of New Deal era sculptures on the exterior. The state of the interior of the building is unknown to us.

This red brick post office building was built in 1936 as Philadelphia's Fairmount Station post office, and is now the Fairmount carrier annex.

Abilene's historic Federal Building was constructed as the U.S. Post Office and Court House during the Great Depression. It was constructed with Treasury Department funds between 1935 and 1936. The building is still used by various federal agencies.

"Constructed almost twenty years before Alaska became the forty-ninth state, the Federal Building in Anchorage symbolized the U.S. government's commitment to the economic growth and development of the territory. Providing residents with a post office, courthouse, and other federal services, it was the first large federal building constructed in Anchorage." (U.S. General Services Administration) "The building housed every federal agency with an office in Anchorage, and tenants included the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Department of the Interior, the Signal Corps, and the Alaska Railroad. In order to accommodate all of them, the building expanded several times. The first wing...

The Federal Building in Clarksville, Tennessee—originally constructed as a post office, was constructed during the Great Depression with Treasury Department funds. The design of the United States Post Office for Clarksville was released April 19, 1935, to be located on the corner of Legion and Second streets. The front of the building is marble, with brick sides with marble trim. Six partial columns extend across the front, spaced between windows/center door, and light posts are on either side of the door on short columns. The lobby floor was marble. Two murals were installed in the building, in 1938, painted by F....

Originally constructed as the United States Post Office and Courthouse, the historic Federal Building in Columbia, Tennessee was constructed with Treasury Department funds. The building houses multiple examples of New Deal artwork.

By the early 1880s, the U.S. Custom House on Post Office Street was inadequate to contain all the federal offices in Galveston. To supplement it, a new United States Courthouse, Post Office, and Custom House was built at the corner of Rosenberg and Church Streets between 1886 and 1891. By the mid-1930s that ponderous Victorian building had also become inadequate, even though a separate Custom House had been built on Galveston’s “Strand” in 1933. Therefore, this six-story federal building, occupying the entire block front on Rosenberg Street, was authorized. Designed by Alfred C. Finn of Houston, it exemplifies the penchant of...

The first federal courthouse in Ketchikan was opened in 1905. By 1913, a federal grand jury requested the government build a new facility. In 1923, a report found the 1905 courthouse "dilapidated beyond reasonable repair and overcrowded past endurance." Finally, a decade later, relief came to Ketchikan in the form of the Work Projects Administration. An initial appropriation of $300,000 was allotted for the project with a supplemental appropriation of $100,000 to cover the $350,000 cost of the building. The plain, box-like exterior, flat roof and lack of ornamentation identify the Federal Building as International Style architecture. The building also represents...

The J. Will Robinson Federal Building occupies the former Provo main post office building, constructed c. 1936. The building bears an unexpected cornerstone from 1965, owing to the building's extensive renovation at that time. The building houses multiple federal agencies today, as well as the original post office mural.

The Federal Building in downtown Flagstaff was constructed as the city's main post office in 1935-1937. Plans had originally called for a combination Post Office and Federal Building, but they were dropped in 1931 by the Hoover Administration for lack of funds (Cline, p 311). When the New Deal came in, funding was restored in 1934. The Federal Building is a gem of Moderne/Deco style architecture of the period. The basic form is a simple, two-story, rectangular box, but the facade is exceptional, consisting of three tall vertical openings (entrance and flanking windows) featuring gleaming copper panels and vertical bands. The...

This neoclassical style building was competed in 1939 and housed the U.S. Court House and Post Office. Today, it is owned by the Hammond Baptist Church and is used as their main office.

This New Deal post office is now known as the Federal Building: MesaAZ.gov: "The Federal Building was built in 193 by the Federal Government Department of Treasury to become Mesa's first 1st-class post office and one of the finest buildings in the City at its completion.  The significance of the building was substantiated by the arrival of the Postmaster General, James A. Farley, who attended the dedication of the building as the guest of honor at a banquet at the Mezona Hall.  Local postal officials, Democratic leaders, and other community leaders from all parts of Arizona also attended the function.  James...

The historic former post office—now Federal Building—in Greenwood, South Carolina was constructed during the 1910s but received a large addition constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The extension and remodeling work was completed in 1941.

This federal building, formerly known as the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was originally occupied in 1907. According to the General Services Administration, a three-story, 100-foot extension was constructed to the west side of the building during the New Deal. “At the date of the second addition, in 1935, the original two-story courtroom was demolished, its materials salvaged, and a new, larger courtroom was added to the west end of the second floor. The new courtroom is distinguished by oak paneled wainscoting, marble baseboards, acoustic stone walls, and a decorative plastered...

The historic 1907 Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Wheeling, West Virginia was expanded during the New Deal era with Treasury Department funds. Wikipedia: "The 1938 addition, built to accommodate a district courtroom, altered the symmetry of the building. The addition uses materials and architectural details that are compatible with the original building." The building, which has been expanded further, is still in service.

Originally built as the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse and now the Federal Building and Courthouse, the building was completed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project with Treasury Department funding in 1935. Construction took approximately one year (~Sept. 1934 to Sept. 1935), and a striking set of New Deal murals resides in the lobby.

This Beaux-Arts building was originally completed as the U.S. Court House and Post Office in 1906. James A. Wetmore supervised a New Deal extension of the building that was completed in 1934. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1976. The building no longer houses postal operations.

The historic Federal Building and Post Office in Duncan, Oklahoma was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building was constructed between 1933 and 1934, and it is still in use today.

The Federal Building and Post Office in San Pedro, CA was built in 1936 by the Treasury Department.  It also formerly served as a U.S. Customs Office. The design is a good example of the Moderne style of architecture.   The extensive use of marble, bronze and milk glass are typical of the Art Deco style of decoration of the time. The basket weave pattern of floor tile surrounded by black marble gives the effect of rugs on a marble floor. Some of the original bronze lamps and ink wells survive at the public writing desks. The mural over the wall at...

The historic Elk City, Oklahoma Federal Building / post office was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds. The building was completed in 1936 and now houses the Elk City Board of Education.

The former Phoenix Federal Building and Post Office (now owned by ASU) was designed by Phoenix architectural firm Lescher and Mahoney in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Construction had begun in 1932, before the advent of FDR's presidency (and thus prior to the New Deal); however, the building bears a 1935 cornerstone, which places it well within the time of FDR! Wikipedia explains: "A site was chosen in 1931 and Phoenix architects Lescher and Mahoney were commissioned to design a six-story building that was intended to house all of the federal services in the city. Construction was begun on the foundations....

What is now known as the C. F. Haynsworth Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina was constructed during the Great Depression, completed in 1937 with federal Treasury Department funds. The building, which formerly housed the main post office in Greenville, presently houses the Federal Station post office.

Originally the Gadsden post office, this Beaux-Arts-style building was constructed in 1909. The post office was twice extended, first in 1915 and again, during the New Deal, in 1937. Louis A. Simon was the Supervising Architect of the second extension. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1976. The building is still in use by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and it no longer serves as a post office.

The historic federal building in downtown Billings, Montana was originally constructed in 1913-4. The building was expanded in 1932 and again in 1940, the latter impacting the "rear central and southern portions of the building" and bringing with it an example of New Deal artwork. NRHP: "The 1940 expansion of the post office, which resulted in the addition of new third floor offices, was first reported on June 23, 1935. Chandler C. Cohagen was selected as the architect for the $200,000 expansion project. Several other Montana cities were included in the appropriation... John Berntson of Salt Lake City completed the construction...

Then the U.S. Post Office and Court House, what is now the Federal Building at 304 E Broadway Ave. was expanded with federal Treasury Department funds during the 1930s. Some landscaping details implemented at that time are still in place, as well. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form discusses the building: The federal government constructed this three-story building ... in 1913. ... Upon completion, the Renaissance Revival-style building housed a Federal Post Office and District Court, one of only four such facilities in North Dakota. A three-story rear wing was added in 1937. The building was nominated to the National...

The Federal Building in Grand Island, NE underwent an extension during the early era of the New Deal. "Supervising Architect of the Treasury James Knox Taylor designed the new post office and federal building in Grand Island, authorizing the final architectural plans in 1908. Workers completed the building, which officially opened on November 26, 1910, at a cost of $108,000. By this time, Grand Island was the third largest city in Nebraska and its economy was thriving. Postal facilities occupied the first floor of the new building, while the second floor held a two-story district courtroom and associated court offices. As its...

The original Missoula post office was completed in 1913 and then expanded during the late 1920s to accommodate the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.  A second extension and annex was made under the New Deal, which was designed by Louis A. Simon of the U.S. Treasury Department and dedicated on October 13, 1937. By that time, the structure was known as the Federal Building. The original building was constructed in the Beaux Arts style, popular in public buildings of the early 20th century, which appears to have been repeated in the 1920s. The 1930s addition was done in...

An extension to the Newport News Federal Building's main structure was built with Treasury Department funds. Construction was completed in 1941. The building, which is still in use, houses New Deal artwork. The original Newport News Federal Building was built in 1904. The building has two entrances. One is on the post office side on 26th street and the other is on the Customs side on 25th street.

The Salisbury Post Office, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, was originally built in the 1920s.  The U.S. Treasury commissioned an expansion of the building circa 1936 “which included a second floor and…an additional two bays on each end of the original five-bay building” (from a Maryland Historical Trust report). The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture also commissioned artist Jacob Getlar Smith to paint three murals for the building circa 1939. “These three murals were commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture at the suggestion of the Wicomico County Historical Society.  The artist took his subject matter...

Today this building is known as the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building, but a small post office branch is still operating in the building. The building was completed in 1936 and opened in 1937. It was built under the auspices of the Federal Works Program with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funding; the design process was under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. "Its construction accomplished several goals--generating employment, housing all federal agencies in a single building, and streamlining San Antonio's quickly expanding postal needs. A skillful example of Beaux-Arts classicism, the U.S. Post Office...

Constructed by the Treasury Department in 1938 as a post office and courthouse. It is still in use by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.