- City:
- San Antonio, TX
- Site Type:
- Federal Facilities, Post Offices, Federal Courthouses
- New Deal Agencies:
- Treasury Department, Federal & Military Operations, Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)
- Completed:
- 1936
- Designers:
- Paul Philippe Cret, Ralph Haywood Cameron
- Marked:
- Yes
Description
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 and Courthouse is indicative of the federal government’s goal of expressing democratic ideals through classically derived architecture featuring grand scale, symmetry, and refined details. The six-story building encompasses an entire city block and is constructed of steel and concrete clad in rich local materials–Texas Pink granite and Texas Cream limestone. The building is polygonal in plan, centered on a central light court. Its facade (south elevation) emphasizes a centrally recessed porch behind a screen of six monumental Ionic columns, rising to support an entablature that continues all around the building. ” Source: www.gsa.gov
The building was listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 2000.
Source notes
https://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/551 https://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/tx/Bexar/state3.html Contributor note: "I was researching the 16 panel mural inside the lobby of the building when I discovered that the building itself was a New Deal project. Just to note, this building appears in the movie "Miss Congeniality" that was filmed in San Antonio!"Site originally submitted by Elizabeth Hilburn - https://doorwayintothethepast.blogspot.com/ on June 10, 2013.
At this Location:
Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
Join the Conversation