The Weiss Center, formerly the U.S. Post Office-Manchester Main is a historic building at 491 Main Street in
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 202 ...
. It was built in 1931 and 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 ...
in 1986 for its architecture. It includes
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...
,
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 ...
, and
Georgian Revival
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
architectural features.
[
]
Description and 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
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
) and Center Street (United States Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
). 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
A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...
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.
The building was constructed in 1931 by the federal government to serve as Manchester's main post office. It has a unique design, prompted by difficulties of its location, credited to United States Supervising Architect James Wetmore
James Alfonso Wetmore (November 1863 – March 14, 1940) was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department from 1915 through 1933 ...
. It was built by Pieretti Brothers contractors.[ and ] 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.
See also
*
*List of United States post offices
Several United States post offices are individually notable and have operated under the authority of the United States Post Office Department (1792–1971) or of the United States Postal Service (since 1971). Notable U.S. post offices include in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Post Office (Manchester, Connecticut)
Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut
Neoclassical architecture in Connecticut
Georgian Revival architecture in Connecticut
Government buildings completed in 1931
Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
Manchester, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut