US Post Office-Cooperstown is a historic

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

building located at

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in ...

in Otsego County,

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was built in 1935-1936, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the

Office of the Supervising Architect The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939. About The office handled some of the most important architectural commissions of ...

of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon. It is one story in front and two stories in the rear with and exposed basement. It is constructed of brick on a raised concrete foundation and limestone watercourse and beltcourse. The principal facade is symmetrically composed with a three bay

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed central section faced entirely with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The building displays

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 arch ...

style details. The interior features a 1938 sculpture by artist Bela Janowsky depicting

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

and two characters from his writings,

Chingachgook Chingachgook is a fictional character in four of James Fenimore Cooper's five ''Leatherstocking Tales'', including his 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Chingachgook was a lone Mohican chief and companion of the series' hero, Natty Bumppo ...

and Natty Bumpo. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying three photographs''
/ref> In 1988, the post office was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It is also a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the

Cooperstown Historic District The Cooperstown Historic District is a national historic district in Cooperstown, Otsego County, New York, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It encompasses 232 contributing properties: 226 contributing bui ...

, ''Note:'' This includes which was listed on the National Register in 1980.

Description

From the nomination file: "The building is situated on the north side of Main Street at the eastern edge of the village's central business district. It is isolated from other buildings on Main Street by an alley on its west side and a large landscaped lot to the east at the corner of Fair Street.A cross Main Street, to the south, is the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

. The post office is set back from the street with mature foundation plantings at the front. On the west side is a parking lot and maneuvering area. The property slopes downward at the rear and along the. eastern side of the building. A retaining wall extends along the north side of the parking area. A stairway leading down from this wall provides access to the exposed basement at the rear of the post office. The building retains its integrity to a high degree on the exterior, although the interior has been altered. .." "Cooperstown Post Office is one story in height in the front and two stories in the rear where the basement is fully exposed. It is constructed on_a raised foundation of poured concrete and brick with facades clad in red brick laid in English bond. Rectangular in shape, it is five bays wide and six bays deep with an unadorned low parapet. A limestone watercourse and beltcourse and low hipped roof distinguish the main section from the rear or workroom section, which is more plainly decorated and has a flat roof. The principal facade is symmetrically composed with a three-bay pedimented central section faced entirely with ashlar limestone. Reminiscent of a Greek- temple, it consists of four square engaged pilasters with molded capitals supporting a plain frieze and shallow pediment. Wide stone steps flanked by Greek-inspired torchere lamps resting on stone wing walls lead to the central entry which contains modern doors. On either side of the entry are windows with eight-over-eight double-hung metal sash. The single bays which flank the central section contain similar windows, each with a limestone lintel and eight-over-eight double-hung sash above a stone panel. "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE COOPERSTOWN NEW YORK" is affixed in bronze letters above the entrance. The three-bay-wide east and west facades of the main section have similar window treatments. The rear section has windows with eight-over-eight sash and four-light transoms on the first floor and smaller windows with eight-over-eight sash on the basement level along the north and east sides.On the west side is a chimney and covered mailing platform." "The public lobby of the post office building occupies the space behind four of the five bays of the main facade. The postmaster's office is located in the southeast corner of the lobby and the workroom occupies most of the remainder of the first floor. The lobby was completely altered in 1978 and 1981. Originally rectangular, it now features a wide, deep alcove in the center section which contains lock boxes. The ceiling has been dropped and the screenline changed. The only remnant of the original scheme is the paneled wood wainscotting and bulletin cases on the east wall. A cast-metal sculptural relief, once located over the postmaster's door, is now on the wall inside the vestibule. It was executed by Bela Janowsky in 1938 and depicts writer James Fenimore Cooper and two principal characters from his writings, Chingachcook and Natty Bumpo."

References

External links

Post Office Relief – Cooperstown NY
at the Living New Deal {{National Register of Historic Places in New York

Government buildings completed in 1936 Colonial Revival architecture in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Otsego County, New York Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state) Treasury Relief Art Project National Register of Historic Places in Otsego County, New York 1936 establishments in New York (state)