The U.S. Post Office, now known as the Springer Cultural Center, is a historic government building located at Randolph and Church Streets in
Champaign, Illinois, United States. Built in 1905, the building originally served as Champaign's
post office. The office of Supervising Architect
James Knox Taylor designed the
Beaux-Arts building. The brick building features extensive
limestone and
terra cotta ornamentation. The front facade has four pairs of
Ionic pilasters separating the entrance and two sets of windows. A
frieze reading "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE" and a
dentillated
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 ...
run above the pilasters. 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 con ...
runs along the front edge of the roof; a large scrolled
cartouche marks the center of the balustrade. In 1966, the post office was converted to a federal building.
The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
[ It is also a Local Landmark.
It was deeded to the Champaign Park District in 1991.]
See also
* List of United States post offices
References
Beaux-Arts architecture in Illinois
Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois
Government buildings completed in 1905
National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Illinois
Post office buildings in Illinois
Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
1905 establishments in Illinois
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