U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Addition – San Juan PR

Description

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in San Juan was built in 1914 with a New Deal-era addition constructed in 1938-1940. Now known as Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, the building still houses judicial functions, though postal operations have long since moved out.

“The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico is a three-story, monumental, concrete office structure occupying an entire square block on the southern fringe of the Old San Juan Historic Zone. Built in 1914 … the original structure was built above the foundations of the ancient city-wall which guarded the harbor-entrance to the city for 300 years. In 1940, a six-story annex was abutted to the southern, main facade on Calle Comercio.

Today the 1940 addition sits precisely where the monumental entrance stair stood, nestled within the “U”-shaped court of the old main facade, but mostly detached from the main structure. This addition consists of a vertical, six- story-plus-base rectangular slab structure. Additional elements of the building’s actual massing include: a projecting three-story, central frontispiece with a curve-gable on the north, Calle Recinto Sur facade; and 2 towers, one above each extreme of the 1940 addition.

The 1940 addition is of special significance in itself, as it is historic also and presents the best example of Vienna-School influenced architecture in Puerto Rico.” (NRHP Document)