Weiss Center

U.S. Post Office-Manchester Main
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Weiss Center
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Location	479 Main St. at Center St., Manchester, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°46′35″N72°31′21″W / 41.77639°N 72.52250°W / 41.77639; -72.52250
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1931
Built by	Pieretti Bros.
Architect	Wetmore, James
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Georgian Revival
NRHP reference No.	86000127 [1]
Added to NRHP	January 21, 1986

The Weiss Center, formerly the U.S. Post Office-Manchester Main is a historic building at 491 Main Street in Manchester, Connecticut. It was built in 1931 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 for its architecture.

History

The Robert Weiss Center is located at the northern end of Manchester's main downtown commercial district, at the northeast corner of Main Street (Connecticut Route 83) and Center Street (United States Route 6). ^[2] The building was constructed in 1931 by the federal government as Manchester's main post office. The post office occupied it until 1991, after which the building was acquired by the city. It was officially named the Weiss Center in 1994. ^[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1986. ^[2]

Architecture

It has a unique design, prompted by difficulties of its location, credited to United States Supervising Architect James Wetmore. It was built by Pieretti Brothers contractors. ^[2] It includes Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, and Georgian Revival architectural features. ^[1]

It is a single-story masonry structure, built out of brick with limestone trim, with a unique pentagonal floorplan. It presents a broad three-bay front entry facade at an angle to the street intersection, with a projecting Classical four-column portico at the center. The portico has round Doric columns rising to an entablature and a gabled pediment studded with modillion blocks. The center of the gable is decorated with garlands and swags. The flanking windows are tall round-headed sashes. The interior lobby area features brown tile flooring with white marble borders and wainscoting. ^[2]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut
• List of United States post offices

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. W. St. John (1985). "NRHP Inventory/Nomination: U.S. Post Office-Manchester Main / Manchester Main Post Office". National Park Service. and Accompanying photos from 1983
3. "Weiss Center". Historic Buildings of Connecticut. Retrieved December 4, 2017.