Golden Era Post Offices

[matei]

We lived in a town on Long Island, NY for a time... the post office there was lovely. I was told that it was created as part of one of FDR's make-work programs.

I uesta love going in there... felt like I was stepping back in time.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I hope that post office NEVER is torn down. It might be the only Post Office to be named an historic landmark.

Is it an historic landmark that you know of Mr. Glee?

 

[Atomic Glee]

I hope that post office NEVER is torn down. It might be the only Post Office to be named an historic landmark.

Is it an historic landmark that you know of Mr. Glee?

I believe it is a Texas state landmark, along with the Texas & Pacific building next to it.

In the '70s, planners wanted to widen the interstate overpass that used to slam its way through Lancaster Avenue, and to do so they were planning on demolishing the Post Office and both of the Texas & Pacific buildings. Fortunately, they were not successful, and of course now the interstate runs further south outside of downtown, and Lancaster is being returned to its '30s layout. We recognize now that these buildings (and others like them) are too special to fall. We did lose a good number of gorgeous old buildings in the '60s and '70s, though, to the misguided "modernists" who tore things down and put in parking lots and blank glass & concrete towers, but these days we're much more careful. We're also bigger these days on making new buildings fit in to their surroundings better.

 

[Tomasso]

This WPA mural is in my Local post office.

The mural in the Lakeview Branch, Chicago, Illinois post office was painted by Henry Sternberg in 1938. It is oil on canvas and measures 24'2" x 7'7". The title is "Chicago - Epoch of a Great City".

 

[Atomic Glee]

The mural in the Lakeview Branch, Chicago, Illinois post office was painted by Henry Sternberg in 1938. It is oil on canvas and measures 24'2" x 7'7". The title is "Chicago - Epoch of a Great City".

Fantastic!

There's an Art Deco US Courthouse across the park from my loft - gorgeous exterior, and the courtrooms apparently still have their original WPA murals.

 

[Harp]

Request

Hey, howzaboutsomesnaps of those WPA murals? lol

 

[Atomic Glee]

Hey, howzaboutsomesnaps of those WPA murals? lol

They exist, but are hard to come by. There's a book I get from the library occasionally that has photos of the three murals, but I don't have it at the moment. If you take the courthouse tour, interior photos are prohibited due to the courthousenessossity. Next time I check out that book, I'll see about scanning them for the Lounge.

The US Courthouse at Burnett Park was built in 1933, and the murals were painted in 1940.

We also still have our old Tarrant County Courthouse here in downtown, which is still used as well, but isn't Golden Era. Still gorgeous, though:

 

[Harp]

WOWZ

Ft Worth, what a beautiful town.:eusa_clap

 

[Mojave Jack]

We also still have our old Tarrant County Courthouse here in downtown, which is still used as well, but isn't Golden Era. Still gorgeous, though:

Not Golden Era, but Richardsonian Romanesque, my personal favorite! Thanks for including that one, Kevin! The Allegheny County Courthouse, in Pittsburgh, was done by Richardson himself, and has always been one of my favorites. Unfortunately it is so buried in the heart of the city, that you can't really get good pics of it. It's great to see those shots of the Tarrant County Courthouse, where you can really see the beauty of that style.

Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh

Great thread, Kevin! Thanks! It is astounding how much time and care went into designing those buildings, only to have them torn down and replaced by glass curtain wall buildings. I'm glad your city is saving them on that scale.

 

[fortworthgal]

The downtown Post Office is lovely! I haven't been in there in a while, but it is truly a stunning building. I consider myself very lucky to live in an area with such fantastic surviving architecture!

Kevin, have you ever seen the old Weatherford post office? It was built in 1914 and is also a historic landmark. It is on 180 as you head into Weatherford, just east of the square. It is now a District Courts building, but I remember stopping in there all the time growing up. It even had the old "Bomb Shelter" sign out front. lol

Another neat post office is in either Nocona or Gainesville, but now I cannot recall which. It is a typical small town post office built in the 40s. They have old fans mounted on the walls, it is really neat inside.

 

[Jack Armstrong]

Atomic Glee, I was interested to see that the Fort Worth post office differs from the one in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania (where I have relatives) only in scale. Stylistically and architecturally, it's identical, right down to the ornate tables in the lobby and the brass fittings.

The much smaller Huntingdon post office was built in 1912. I wonder if there might have been an "official post office style" during the first half of the twentieth century.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Well, nothing thus far on the murals, but here are a few detail shots I took of the Art Deco United States Courthouse across Burnett Park from my loft:

 

[Michaelson]

Thank you VERY much for the report on the train station in Ft. Worth! My wife and were there a couple years ago, and I sneaked into the waiting room of the station when no one was one was looking. From the appearance of all the buildings, we were really concerned that they, too, would fall into complete decay, and the eventual wrecking ball.

Thank HEAVENS level headed civic leaders and architects took the lead and made them the pride and joy of the city again. I can hardly wait to tell my wife this news.

HIGH regards! Michaelson

 

[Atomic Glee]

Thank you VERY much for the report on the train station in Ft. Worth! My wife and were there a couple years ago, and I sneaked into the waiting room of the station when no one was one was looking. From the appearance of all the buildings, we were really concerned that they, too, would fall into complete decay, and the eventual wrecking ball.

Thank HEAVENS level headed civic leaders and architects took the lead and made them the pride and joy of the city again. I can hardly wait to tell my wife this news.

HIGH regards! Michaelson

Believe me, I'm thrilled as well. The Texas & Pacific Lofts are turning out to be a huge success - I believe I've heard that the historic rail terminal is selling out quickly, and the new midrise built next to it is selling well, too.

With the city moving closer to completion on the restoration of Lancaster Avenue, hopefully there will be a bright future ahead for the remaining building in the complex, the T&P Warehouse. It's been vacant for years after being abused as a haunted house site and a paintball arena. There have been ideas floated about to reuse it - it's such a massive building that you could get three or four major uses out of it at the same time.

EDIT: How would you like to live in a '30s Art Deco train station?

 

[Michaelson]

Just to be curious, how much are these units selling for in the station?

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Atomic Glee]

According to their site, there are one bedroom units from the $160,000s, and two bedroom units from the $220,000s. There are 228 loft condos, 136 in the 12-story historic terminal and 92 in the new four-story building alongside it. Sizes range from 650 square feet to 1,300 square feet.

 

[Michaelson]

Thanks! I was also able to find their website!

I just wanted to know where to send my check. (grins)

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Atomic Glee]

The downtown Post Office is lovely! I haven't been in there in a while, but it is truly a stunning building. I consider myself very lucky to live in an area with such fantastic surviving architecture!

Kevin, have you ever seen the old Weatherford post office? It was built in 1914 and is also a historic landmark. It is on 180 as you head into Weatherford, just east of the square. It is now a District Courts building, but I remember stopping in there all the time growing up. It even had the old "Bomb Shelter" sign out front. lol

Oh yeah, I remember the old Weatherford post office. I remember my grandmother taking me there occasionally for some things when I was younger and growing up in Brock. I thought it was so lame that they moved out of it - the new one doesn't even come close to comparing.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Not Golden Era, but Richardsonian Romanesque, my personal favorite! Thanks for including that one, Kevin! The Allegheny County Courthouse, in Pittsburgh, was done by Richardson himself, and has always been one of my favorites. Unfortunately it is so buried in the heart of the city, that you can't really get good pics of it. It's great to see those shots of the Tarrant County Courthouse, where you can really see the beauty of that style.

Great thread, Kevin! Thanks! It is astounding how much time and care went into designing those buildings, only to have them torn down and replaced by glass curtain wall buildings. I'm glad your city is saving them on that scale.

Fort Worth has always been very careful about blocking sightlines to the courthouse. Downtown lies where the Clear Fork and the West Fork of the Trinity River come together, on the site of the actual old pioneer-days army fort the city takes its name from (some ruins of the original fort's buildings can be found below the courthouse on the banks of the river). The courthouse is built at the current north end of downtown, along the high bluff above the river. Main Street runs straight up to the porch, then diverts around the building on both sides before meeting back up at the lovely old Paddock Viaduct bridge across the river. So, the courthouse occupies a "landmark" position at one end of Main Street, so from all the way down at the at the Tarrant County Convention Center near the south end of downtown, you have a completely uninterrupted sightline of the courthouse, flanked by the old & new skyscrapers along Main. Buildings immediately surrounding the courthouse are not allowed by the Downtown Review Board and our Urban Design Standards to rise any higher than the base of the clock tower, to allow the clock tower to be seen from many directions. We are currently planning a massive project known as Uptown Fort Worth, that will build a channel, urban lake, islands, and Venice-style canals immediately north of the courthouse and downtown, and the majority of the buildings on & around the new islands will be height-limited to around eight-to-ten stories to preserve downtown views & views of the courthouse. Only buildings at the perimeter will be allowed to become skyscrapers, meaning the heart of Uptown will have uninterrupted courthouse/downtown views. The Main Street view corridor will also extend north through Uptown, so the courthouse will keep its landmark status from the North.

In other words, we take our courthouse *very* seriously around here.

Here's a few detail shots I got today of the Tarrant County Courthouse - figured you'd like to see 'em:

 

[fortworthgal]

Here's a shot of me in the downtown post office just this past Saturday: