United States Post Office (Suffern, New York)

Last updated
U.S. Post Office
Suffern, NY, post office.jpg
Front elevation and south profile, 2008
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Suffern, NY
Nearest city Hackensack, NJ
Coordinates 41°06′59″N74°09′07″W / 41.11639°N 74.15194°W / 41.11639; -74.15194 Coordinates: 41°06′59″N74°09′07″W / 41.11639°N 74.15194°W / 41.11639; -74.15194
Built1936 [1]
ArchitectLouis Simon
Architectural style Colonial Revival, Streamline Moderne
MPS US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR
NRHP reference No. 88002435
Added to NRHP1989

The U.S. Post Office in Suffern, New York , is located on Chestnut Street between NY 59 and US 202, on the northern edge of the village's downtown business district. It serves the ZIP Code 10901, covering the village of Suffern.

Contents

It was built during the New Deal and reflects that era's architectural styles, combining elements of the Colonial Revival style preferred by the Treasury Department for new post offices in the early 20th century with the Streamline Moderne style predominating in the late 1930s. Its interior features a wall relief by Elliot Means, one of the many public artworks commissioned by the Section of Painting and Sculpture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Wall relief by Elliott Means (1937) FWA-PBA-Paintings and Sculptures for Public Buildings-bas relief of classical woman archer with words over land and... - NARA - 195800.tif
Wall relief by Elliott Means (1937)

Building

The post office is a single-story, five-bay steel frame building with a buff brick exterior. It is square-shaped with a rear wing and flat roof. [1]

The central three bays of the front facade are done in a symmetrical, vertical pattern of scalloped limestone, with some marble trim. Polished aluminum letters attached to the facade above the main entrance identify the building as a post office and its location. Some aluminum lampposts have been added since the building's construction. [1]

Aluminum is also used for the doors and vestibule, leading on to the L-shaped lobby, almost intact from its original design. Ceramic tile is used for the flooring and dado to counter height. Vertical scalloping similar to that in the exterior is used on the plaster ceiling's molded cornice. [1]

On the wall above the entrance to the postmaster's office is "Communication", a relief by sculptor Elliot Means. It depicts a partially clothed woman, surrounded by the moon, clouds, stars, mountains and waves, shooting a bow with flaming arrow. [1]

History

Suffern's first post office was established in 1797 by founding settler John Suffern, but fell into disuse a decade later. A village post office was formally reestablished in 1858 and used several rented spaces over the years. In 1931, the Treasury Department, which was then the Post Office's parent agency, got Congress to appropriate money for a standalone post office building in several New York communities, Suffern included. [1]

The land was purchased for $20,000 in 1935. The next year, the post office was built for $90,000. Treasury Supervising Architect Louis Simon used an austere Colonial Revival design, demonstrated by the building's fenestration, brick facing and multi-paned sash windows. Variations on this basic design can be found in other New York post offices Simon built during this period. [1]

But to a far greater degree than other post offices he built during this period elsewhere in the state, he incorporated more contemporary, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne elements, such as the expansive brick face, the use of aluminum in the transom, the limestone scalloping and the lack of exterior ornamentation or cornice otherwise. Only the post office in the Chemung County village of Waverly, almost an exact copy of Suffern's, uses this many modernistic elements. [1]

Means' relief was added in 1937, and fluorescent lighting was installed in the lobby in 1965. There have been no major changes besides those to the building since it was opened. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Goshen, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Dobbs Ferry, New York)</span> United States historic place

The United States Post Office in Dobbs Ferry, New York serves the ZIP Code 10522, which covers the village of Dobbs Ferry. It is a brick Colonial Revival structure located at the corner of Main and Oak streets, in the downtown section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Delmar, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Delmar, New York is located on Delaware Avenue in the middle of the hamlet. It serves the 12054 ZIP Code, covering Delmar and its surrounding area. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. To date it is the only current post office in Albany County on the Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Hudson, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Middleport, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Albion, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Medina, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Medina, New York, is located at West Avenue and West Center Street. It is a brick building erected in the early 1930s, serving the ZIP Code 14103, covering the village of Medina and neighboring portions of the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William R. Cotter Federal Building</span> United States historic place

The William R. Cotter Federal Building is a historic post office, courthouse, and federal office building located at 135–149 High Street in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the courthouse for United States District Court for the District of Connecticut until 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Nyack, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Haverstraw, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Haverstraw, New York, is located on Main Street in the center of the village. It serves the ZIP Code 10927, which covers the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Scotia, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Ballston Spa, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Saratoga Springs, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Lake George, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Granville, New York)</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Hoosick Falls, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Hoosick Falls, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galveston United States Post Office and Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, also known as the Galveston Federal Building, is a post office and courthouse located in Galveston, Texas, USA. The building serves as the federal court for the Galveston Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Constructed in 1937, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as Galveston U.S. Post Office, Custom House and Courthouse, the building is home a number of federal agencies, and at one point housed the Galveston Bureau of the National Weather Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Pearl River, New York)</span> United States historic place

The U.S. Post Office in Pearl River, New York, is located at the junction of Franklin and Main streets in the hamlet's downtown. It is a brick building from the mid-1930s, serving the ZIP Code 10965, which covers the hamlet of Pearl River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Post Office (Lenox Hill Station)</span> Historic post office in Manhattan, New York

The United States Post Office Lenox Hill Station is located at 217 East 70th Street between Second and Third Avenues in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City. It is a brick building constructed in 1935 and designed by Eric Kebbon in the Colonial Revival style, and is considered one of the finest post offices in that style in New York State. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, along with many other post offices in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert A. Grant Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse</span> United States historic place

Robert A. Grant Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, also known as the Federal Building, is a historic post office and courthouse building located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was designed by architect Austin and Shambleau and built in 1932-1933. It is a four-story, Art Deco / Art Moderne style building faced with Indiana limestone and Vermont granite. It housed a post office until 1973.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gobrecht, Larry (November 1986). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, U.S. Post Office (Suffern, New York)" . Retrieved 2008-05-28.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to United States Post Office (Suffern, New York) at Wikimedia Commons