The U.S. Post Office in

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, is located at Jay and Liberty streets just north of

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. It serves the 12305, 12307 and 12308 ZIP codes, which covers the city. It is a brick

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

building erected in 1912 and added onto extensively in 1933. At that point in time its main entrance was moved to Jay Street. Its detailing, particularly the arched windows, inspired a similar design for the neighboring city hall in 1931. The two buildings were later listed together 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 ...

in 1978; in 1989 the post office was listed in its own right.

Building

The post office occupies most of the block. The neighborhood is densely developed and commercial, with city and county government buildings as well. The terrain is flat. It is a rectangular building faced

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

on the south and west and yellow brick elsewhere. A central

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

is flanked by north and south wings, the latter of which is the main entrance. Both wings have round-arched windows divided by partially engaged Ionic columns. The former main entrance, on the Liberty Street side, has free-standing

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns. At the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

is a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

. Inside, the lobby has green marble

baseboard In architecture, a baseboard (also called skirting board, skirting, wainscoting, mopboard, trim, floor molding, or base molding) is usually wooden or vinyl board covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the joint ...

s, white marble

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make ro ...

and a white marble stair with iron railing. The high plaster ceiling's molded cornice has dentils and modillions, with an eagle on each

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

. Bronze mailboxes and oak woodwork round out the interior decoration.

History

The first post office in Schenectady was established in 1793. It handled mail deliveries via stagecoach lines that passed through the city from Albany on their way west. Residents went to the post office to get their mail until home delivery began in 1887. The post office had been in several locations until the current site was chosen in 1912, for a large post office for a growing industrial city. The use of the

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

by Treasury Department supervising architect

James Knox Taylor James Knox Taylor (October 11, 1857 – August 27, 1929) was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ''ex officio'' as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings bu ...

, while common for new post offices in cities Schenectady's size at the time, was unusual for the city. Only the county courthouse and a few small bank buildings used it. In 1933 the Post Office decided to expand the structure, a move that expressed confidence in Schenectady's growth since postal receipts were declining at the time due to the Great Depression. John Ryder reconfigured the building with as little disruption to the original style as possible. The interior was renovated in the 1960s, the only significant change to the building since its construction.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places

Neoclassical architecture in New York (state) Government buildings completed in 1912 Buildings and structures in Schenectady, New York 1912 establishments in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Schenectady County, New York

Building

History

See also

References