Post Office – Scotia NY

Description

The historic (and current) Scotia, New York branch post office was constructed during the Great Depression with federal Treasury Department funds.

“In 1935, as a relief measure during the Depression, Congress authorized construction of the current building, replacing an old house and garage at the site.

Louis A. Simon, then Supervising Architect at the Treasury Department, handled the design, as he did for many of the other post offices built in New York during the 1930s. His design for Scotia’s was almost identical to one used for four other post offices in small communities around the state: Akron, Horseheads, Middleburgh and Oxford. All are modestly scaled brick Colonial Revival buildings, showing no original variations save for minor later alterations.

Construction did not get underway until 1939, at a time when Congress was scaling back on new post office construction in anticipation of war. The local firm of Loucks and Clarks was awarded the contract and finished the building the following year, making it one of the last to be completed in the state under a Depression-era relief program.”