United States Post Office (Goshen, New York)

	U.S. Post Office
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Front (south) elevation, 2007
Location	20 Grand St.; Goshen, New York
Coordinates	41°24′09″N74°19′34″W / 41.4024°N 74.3262°W Coordinates: 41°24′09″N74°19′34″W / 41.4024°N 74.3262°W
Built	1935–6
Architect	E.P. Valkenburgh
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
MPS	US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR
NRHP reference No.	88002527
Added to NRHP	May 11, 1989

Last updated April 11, 2022

The U.S. Post Office in Goshen, New York, United States, is located on Grand Street downtown in the village of Goshen. It serves ZIP Code 10924, roughly contiguous with the village and town. The brick Colonial Revival building was completed in 1936, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

E.P. Valkenburgh's design is smaller than most Colonial Revival post offices built during the New Deal in the state. It also features a high degree of decoration for a small post office in that style. The front lobby features a mural of Goshen's major landmark, the Historic Track, by Georgina Klitgaard, that was controversial when the post office was built.

Building

The post office is a one-and-half-story, five-by-three-bay steel frame building that occupies most of the lot on the north side of Grand between Canal and Main streets. It is faced in Harvard-style brick laid in common bond. The foundation is done in molded brick except for a stonework area near the entrance.^[2]

A three-bay front pavilion, projected slightly, contains the entrance area, framed with engaged pilasters supporting a plain entablature and denticulated pediment with a cast iron eagle and "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE GOSHEN NEW YORK" in bronze letters on the tympanum. It is flanked by two windows with cast-stone trim and cast iron lanterns. The front windows are shallow-arched, with brick surrounds, keystones and spring blocks.^[2]

The steeply pitched gabled roof is tiled in slate and topped by an octagonal cupola with louvered openings, a copper dome and weather vane. The roofline is marked by a modillioned cornice with side returns.^[2]

Inside, the vestibule is finished in the original wood. It gives onto the lobby, with a terrazzo floor. The walls have vertical-planked wooden wainscoting topped by modillions. They rise to a coved ceiling with stepped panels.^[2]

The original light fixtures has been replaced with fluorescent lights, but otherwise the customer service windows and teller bays are intact save where one of the latter has been replaced with bronze lockboxes. Klitgaard's 5'5" by 11' (1.7 by 3.4 m) mural, "The Running of the Hambletonian Stake", depicting a harness race at the nearby Historic Track, is just below the ceiling on the east wall.^[2]

Aesthetics

Smaller than most other small Colonial Revival Depression-era post offices in New York, the Goshen design does not appear to have been duplicated elsewhere in New York as others were (such as Suffern's and Waverly's). Valkenburgh's other New York post office, in Catskill, another small Hudson Valley county seat, is distinctly different.^[2]

The building does, however, share with some other contemporary Colonial Revival post offices, such as Dobbs Ferry and Hudson Falls its fine detail. Those buildings, too, share steep gable roofs, ornamented ends and classically inspired entryways.^[2]

History

Goshen's first post office was built shortly after the Revolution. Over the years it was operated from several different buildings in the village. The current building was one of many authorized by Congress in a 1931 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926, when it expanded the scope of the program in response to rising unemployment at the start of the Depression. Funds were not appropriated until 1934.^[2]

The site chosen, across from what was then the Erie Railroad station (now the headquarters of the village police department), had been vacant since the St. Elmo Hotel (built 1887) burned down in 1920. In November 1934 it was condemned by the Treasury Department, the Post Office's then-parent agency. Samuel Plato was awarded the $85,000 ($1,600,000 in contemporary dollars^[3]) contract and construction of the new building was completed in early 1936.^[2]

Klitgaard's mural was added the following year. Postal murals of the era were supposed to focus on local history and contemporary life, but the Treasury Department's Fine Arts Section strongly objected to her intention to paint the track, since it considered harness racing to be an inappropriate subject for public art, asking her to paint a local landscape instead. The community indicated its strong support of the track, and she was allowed to paint it.^[2]

There have been few modifications to the building since then, primarily in the rear portions of the interior. In 1978, a wheelchair access ramp was built on the front.^[2]

Related Research Articles

The U.S. Post Office in Beacon, New York, is located on Main Street. It serves the ZIP Code 12508, covering the entire city of Beacon and some of the neighboring areas of the Town of Fishkill. It is a stone structure in the Dutch Colonial Revival architectural style built in the mid-1930s. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with many other older post offices in the state.

The U.S. Post Office in Rhinebeck, New York serves the 12572 ZIP Code. It is located on Mill Street just south of the intersection with NY 308 at the center of the village.

The U.S. Post Office in Hyde Park, New York, serves the 12538 ZIP Code. It is a stone building in the Dutch Colonial Revival architectural style, located on East Market Street just east of US 9.

United States Post Office (Troy, New York) United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Troy, New York, United States, is located at 400 Broadway, on the corners of Fourth and William Streets, the tenth location it has occupied in the city's history. It serves the ZIP Codes 12179 through 12182, which cover different sections of the city. In 1989 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it is also a contributing property to the Central Troy Historic District, which covers much of the city's downtown commercial area.

The U.S. Post Office in Hudson, New York, United States, is located on Union Street at the corner of South Fourth Street, just across from the Columbia County courthouse. It serves the ZIP Code 12534, which covers the city of Hudson and surrounding areas of the Town of Greenport.

The U.S. Post Office in Middleport, New York, is located at Main and Church streets. It is a brick building erected in 1940, serving the 14105 ZIP Code, which covers the village of Middleport and surrounding areas of the towns of Hartland and Royalton.

The former Kingston City Library building is located on Broadway in the center of Kingston, New York, United States. It is a brick Carnegie library built in 1903 in the Classical Revival architectural style.

The U.S. Post Office in Albion, New York, is located on South Main Street in the center of town. It serves the 14411 ZIP Code, covering the village and town of Albion plus neighboring sections of the towns of Barre and Gaines.

The U.S. Post Office in Nyack, New York, is located on South Broadway in the center of the village. It serves the 10960 ZIP Code, which covers South Nyack and Upper Nyack in addition to the village.

The United States Post Office in Peekskill, New York, is located on South Street. It is a brick building in the Colonial Revival architectural style, serving the 10566 ZIP Code, which covers the city of Peekskill and some surrounding areas in the town of Cortlandt.

The U.S. Post Office in Scotia, New York, is located on Mohawk Avenue in the middle of the village. It is a brick Colonial Revival structure built at the end of the 1930s, serving the 12302 ZIP Code, which covers the village and some surrounding areas of the Town of Glenville.

The U.S. Post Office in Ballston Spa, New York, is located on Front Street in the village's commercial center. It is a brick building constructed in the mid-1930s, serving the 12020 ZIP Code, which covers the village and the surrounding areas of the Town of Ballston.

The U.S. Post Office in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, is located at 475 Broadway at the intersection of Church Street in the center of the city. It is a brick structure built in 1910 in the Classical Revival architectural style, and was designed by James Knox Taylor, supervising architect for the Treasury Department. The post office serves the ZIP Code 12866, covering the city of Saratoga Springs.

The U.S. Post Office in Lake George, New York, United States, is located at the corner of Canada Street and Kurosaka Lane. It is a small brick building constructed just before World War II. It serves the area the village of Lake George, the surrounding town and those areas of Queensbury which comprise the 12845 ZIP Code.

The U.S. Post Office in Granville, New York, United States, is located on Main Street in the center of the village. It is a brick building serving the ZIP Code 12832, which covers the village and surrounding areas of the Town of Granville.

The U.S. Post Office in Hoosick Falls, the the U.S. state of New York, is located on Main Street a block south of downtown. It is a brick building erected in the mid-1920s, serving the 12090 ZIP Code, which covers the village of Hoosick Falls and surrounding portions of the Town of Hoosick.

The Claverack Free Library is located on NY 23B near the center of the hamlet of Claverack-Red Mills, New York, United States. It is a small Colonial Revival building constructed in the early 1930s from a design by local architect Lucius Moore.

The U.S. Post Office for Yonkers, New York, is located on Main Street downtown, opposite the city's train station. It is a two-story stone building erected in the late 1920s. It is located in the 10702 ZIP Code, but serves the entire city, which has other ZIP codes between 10701 and 10710. In 1989 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with many other historic post offices in the state.

The Old Post Office, also known as the United States Government Building, is located at the intersection of State Street and Broadway in Albany, New York, United States. It was built from 1879 to 1883 at a cost of $627,148.

Georgina Klitgaard was an American artist. Klitgaard was known for panoramic landscape paintings of scenic New York from a bird's-eye view perspective. Her work was reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, on April 14, 1929, and in The Art Digest, on November 1, 1929. She painted three murals in United States Post Offices during the Great Depression.

References

↑ Address based on USPS website. Accessed April 1, 2016.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gobrecht, Larry (December 1986). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, U.S. Post Office--Goshen". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved February 19, 2009.
↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved January 1, 2020.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Address based on USPS website. Accessed April 1, 2016.

[NRHP_nom-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gobrecht, Larry (December 1986). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, U.S. Post Office--Goshen". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved February 19, 2009.

[inflation-US-3] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved January 1, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Goshen, New York
Municipalities	Village of Florida Town of Goshen Village of Goshen
Education	Goshen Central School District Goshen Central High School Goshen Intermediate School Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School Private John S. Burke Catholic High School
Historic buildings and sites	1841 Goshen Courthouse Church Park Historic District District School No. 9 Dutchess Quarry Cave Site Everett-Bradner House George T. Wisner House Good Time Park Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame Historic Track Olivet Chapel Sawyer Farmhouse U.S. Post Office
Other	Black Dirt Region Orange County Government Center

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal