United States Post Office (Ballston Spa, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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North elevation, 2008
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| Location | 1 Front Street, Ballston Spa, NY, 12020 |
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| Nearest city | Saratoga Springs |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Louis A. Simon |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | U.S. Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002468 |
| Added to NRHP | 1988 |
The U.S. Post Office in Ballston Spa, New York, is a special building. It's on Front Street, right in the middle of the village. This brick building was built in the mid-1930s. It helps deliver mail for the 12020 ZIP Code, which covers Ballston Spa and nearby areas.
A famous architect named Louis A. Simon designed it. He worked for the Treasury Department. The building has a simple Colonial Revival style. This style was popular for post offices in small towns back then. Only one other post office in New York looks similar to it. In 1988, it became a protected historic site on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Exploring the Ballston Spa Post Office Building
The post office is on the south side of Front Street. It's at the corner of Milton Avenue, which is a main road (NY 50/67). The building sits a little higher than the street. There are some bushes and two large maple trees around it. Across the streets are other buildings with shops and offices. On the west side, there's a driveway that goes to the back where trucks unload mail.
What the Building Looks Like
The post office is a one-story building. It's made with a strong steel frame and has a brick base. A part of the building sticks out at the back, where the loading dock is. The bricks are laid in a common pattern. The building has a flat roof with a stone top edge.
The front of the building faces north. The main entrance is in the middle, with a round arch above it. The doors are modern, made of aluminum and glass. Above the doors, there's a carved wooden fan shape. "BALLSTON SPA N.Y. 12020-9998" is written in black letters above the door.
The windows on the front and sides have special brick frames and stone sills. A stone line goes around the building above the entrance. "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK 12020" is spelled out in bronze letters above this line.
Getting Inside
Two sets of stone stairs lead up from the sidewalk to the main entrance. They have iron railings. There's also a wheelchair ramp for easy access. Two old-fashioned lanterns hang by the entrance.
When you go through the doors, you enter a small glass area called a vestibule. More glass doors lead into the main lobby. The lobby used to be L-shaped but is now a simple rectangle. It has ceramic tile floors and a curved plaster ceiling. Some original wooden panels are still on the walls. The wooden frames around the bulletin boards and the postmaster's office door are also original.
History of the Ballston Spa Post Office
Ballston Spa became a village in 1807. Before this building, the post office was in different places. At one point, it was even in an opera house across the street from where it is now. Because Ballston Spa is the main town for Saratoga County, people wanted a permanent building just for the post office.
Building a New Post Office
The U.S. Congress finally approved a new post office for Ballston Spa in 1931. This was part of a plan to create jobs during the Great Depression. It took a few years to buy the land, which had four other buildings on it. Finally, in 1935, a company from New York City built the post office. It cost $85,000, which was a lot of money back then.
Louis A. Simon, the architect, was in charge of the design. Many post offices built in small towns during that time looked similar. They were often brick buildings in the Colonial Revival style. Simon's design for Ballston Spa is very simple, with not many fancy decorations. Other post offices from that time, like the one in Scotia, were much more decorative. Only one other post office, in Ilion, looks as simple as the one in Ballston Spa, even having a flat roof.
Changes Over Time
The inside of the post office has changed a little since it was built. The L-shaped lobby became a simple rectangle. Some of the original wooden panels were removed from two walls. The windows where people buy stamps were replaced with newer ones. New metal mailboxes were also added. Other than these small changes, the building looks much like it did when it first opened.
