McDowell County Courthouse Annex (Old Post Office) – Welch WV

Description

The historic former post office in Welch, West Virginia was built in 1936-7 with Treasury Department funds. The building now serves as the McDowell County Courthouse Annex.

Per Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Mar. 7, 1937:

NEW BUILDING IS OF LATEST DESIGN

Concrete And Tile Floors And Stairways Make Building Completely Fireproof; Modern Quarters U. S. Offices

Welch’s newest and most modern building, the new post office, under construction since July 2, 1936, was officially completed March 1, and will be open for service on Monday morning.

J. W. Carroll, superintendent in charge of construction, arrived in Welch on June 15, last year, and two weeks later work was begun. The actual construction took approximately six months, the job having been scheduled for completion under management of the construction company. Delay in securing material, however, lengthened this time, and the date was set by the government for the building’s completion was March 1.

The new building, into which the post office was moved on Saturday afternoon, is of fireproof construction, with concrete and tile floors and stairways on the basement floor and first floor, and a spacious court in the rear. A concrete driveway leads to the receiving entrance there, and to the entrance at the corner of Stadium and Mercer streets.

The basement of the building is well-lighted and airy, many of the rooms having natural light. Provision has been made in the basement for boiler and fuel rooms, as well as a number of storage rooms for the post office. There is a section set off for the use of the Agricultural Extension Service there also.

The ground floor of the building houses the post office workroom, with the finance section set off to one side a durable tile wall. The office of the postmaster is on this floor, as well as the rest room for women employees and a janitor’s room. Facing the public lobby there are 735 boxes, to which keys are being issued to boxholders for a charge of 20 cents each.

A concrete stairway leads to the second floor, where the other government offices are located, including Civil Service Commission, the Internal Revenue office, the Works Progress Administration, and Agricultural Extension Service. The National Re-employment office and the postal inspector’s office are on this floor.

A feature of the building is a lookout system, which consists of a suspended tunnel beneath the upper floor hanging above the post office workroom, from which it is possible to view any position of the room office through peepholes. A ladder inside this tunnel leads down to the basement rooms, and back up to the second floor to the office of the postal inspector. The only entrance to this tunnel is through the office of the postal inspector. By means of this lookout system it is possible to watch the movements of any employee in the office, not only in the workroom, but also in the locker room and the storage rooms in the basement.

At the rear of the building is a small lawn, in the corner of which is a 60-foot flagpole. The lawn on top of the pole is bronze, covered with 23-carat gold leaf.

The construction was in charge of the A. Farrell Blair Construction company, of Lake Charles, La. The building was erected at a cost of $63,300, while the complete cost of the lot and other incidentals raised this cost to approximately $150,000.

The new post office building employed around 200 men in its construction, and was inspected on February 25 by government inspectors, who declared it very satisfactory, and built to stay for a long time.