The former Bowling Green Post Office is a historic governmental facility in downtown Bowling Green,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Constructed in the early twentieth century, this

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

features an unusual combination of distinctive architectural styles, and it has been named a historic site.

Architecture

Built in 1913 of brick with an asphalt roof, the post office features substantial amounts of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

., Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-09-10. Its design, produced under the direction of

Oscar Wenderoth Oscar Wenderoth (1871–1938) was an American architect who served as director of the Office of the Supervising Architect from 1912 to 1915. He is identified as the architect of many government buildings built during that period, including some li ...

, combines prominent elements of two common architectural styles of the early twentieth century. The arched windows display the influence of the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style, as do the side

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

s and certain details of the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. Meanwhile, the overall appearance of the facade is clearly Neoclassical, due to details in the portico, the architect's choice of smooth stone for the exterior walls, and the generally symmetrical appearance.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1423. One large window sits on either side of the main entrance, which is covered by a four-column

; the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

at the top of the portico features a central

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

. The main entrance features a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

, an iron frame, and elements in the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

.Welcome to Bowling Green Ohio's Historic District!
, Downtown Bowling Green, c. 2003. Accessed 2013-09-10.

History

Located in downtown Bowling Green, the post office lies at the northern end of the city's main commercial district. As Wood County's leading post office and only substantial federal building, the post office was for many years among the most prominent buildings in the city. The building is no longer used for postal purposes, as the Postal Service moved to another facility in the late 1970s. Since that time, it had served as the Wood County Senior Citizens Center, but even in this new use, it retained its place as a landmark for residents countywide: the Wood County Committee on Aging, which operates numerous centers countywide, used the building as its headquarters. In 1979, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying because of its distinctive historic architecture. It is one of five National Register-listed sites in the city, along with the Main Street Historic District a short distance to the south, the county courthouse downtown, Floral Hall in a city park, and the Boom Town Historic District on the west side. In 2020 it was announced that the building would receive a significant change. Preparation for demolition of the building except for the facade began in December of 2021.

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1913 Buildings and structures in Wood County, Ohio Former post office buildings National Register of Historic Places in Wood County, Ohio Neoclassical architecture in Ohio Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Renaissance Revival architecture in Ohio Sandstone buildings in the United States 1913 establishments in Ohio Bowling Green, Ohio