Orono Post Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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US Post Office-Orono Main
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Orono Post Office as seen in June 2017
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1 Bennoch St., Orono, Maine |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1932 |
| Architect | Office of the Supervising Architect under Louis A. Simon |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 86000881 |
| Added to NRHP | May 2, 1986 |
The Orono Post Office is an important building in Orono, Maine. You can find it at 1 Bennoch Street. It was built in 1933 and is a great example of a building style called Classical Revival. This style uses ideas from ancient Greek and Roman buildings. Because of its special design and history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This means it's recognized as a place worth protecting for future generations.
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Exploring the Orono Post Office Building
The Orono Post Office sits on a unique piece of land. It's shaped like a triangle where Forest and Bennoch Streets meet, not far from Orono's Main Street (United States Route 2).
Its Special Design and Look
The building is made of brick and stone. It has a flat roof and a decorative railing along the top, called a parapet. The front of the building, known as the facade, is seven sections wide. Five of these sections are in the middle and stick out a little.
These middle sections have cool round-shaped openings, like arches. The main door is in the very center opening. The other openings in this part have windows. The two sections on the very ends have rectangular windows. These windows have a special stone block at the top called a keystone. Stone columns, called pilasters, stand on either side of the central part of the building.
What's Inside the Post Office?
When you step inside the lobby, you'll see a floor made of terrazzo marble. This is a mix of marble chips and cement, polished smooth. The lower part of the walls, called wainscoting, is also made of marble. The door frames are trimmed with marble too. The upper walls are smooth plaster. Near the ceiling, there's a decorative trim called a cornice, which has small, tooth-like blocks called dentil moulding. Some parts of the inside were updated later, but they were made to match the original look.
A Bit of History Behind the Building
The Orono Post Office was designed in 1932. The plans were created by the Office of the Supervising Architect, led by Louis A. Simon. This office was part of the United States Department of the Treasury. The detailed drawings for building it were done by a local company, Stallworth and Davis. This project was part of a program to create more jobs during that time. The lobby area was updated in the 1980s, which included adding new mailboxes.
