United States Post Office (Delmar, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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Front (south) elevation, 2008
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Delmar, NY |
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| Nearest city | Albany |
| Built | 1939–40 |
| Architect | Louis Simon |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002480 |
| Added to NRHP | 1988 |
The U.S. Post Office in Delmar, New York is a special building. It is located on Delaware Avenue (NY 443) right in the middle of the small town of Delmar. This post office handles mail for the 12054 ZIP Code, which covers Delmar and the areas around it.
This building is quite important! It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. This means it is recognized as a place with historical value. It is the only post office in Albany County that is currently on this special list.
The post office is a small brick building. It was built in 1939, near the end of the Great Depression. A famous architect named Louis A. Simon designed it. He worked for the United States Treasury Department. He designed 13 post offices in New York in a style called Colonial Revival. The Delmar post office is unique because it's the only one he designed without a small dome called a cupola. Inside, you can see a beautiful mural. It shows a scene of the Indian Ladder, a famous spot at nearby John Boyd Thacher State Park.
Contents
What the Building Looks Like
The Delmar post office is a one-story building made of brick. It has five sections, or "bays," on its front. The bottom part of the building is made of stone.
Main Entrance Details
You enter through double doors at the top of some granite steps. These steps have iron railings. The door is framed by fancy columns called pilasters. Above the door, there's a beautiful fan-shaped window with a cast aluminum eagle. The words "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE" are written in bronze letters above the door. Below that, it says "DELMAR 12054 NEW YORK."
Windows and Roof
On each side of the main door, there are two original lamps. There are also two windows with limestone sills (bottom parts) and lintels (top parts). A wooden decorative trim, called a cornice, runs around the roofline. The roof itself is made of slate and has a pointed shape, known as a gable.
Sides and Back
The sides of the building each have two windows. The pointed ends of the roof are covered in wooden siding. They have a round opening with spokes, called mullions. At the back of the building, there are two parts that stick out. One is a workroom wing. The other part was added later in 1959. It looks similar to the main building's roof but is not considered part of the original historic design.
Inside the Post Office
When you walk in, you enter a small wooden entry area. The main lobby is shaped like an "L." It has a cool red-and-black floor made of terrazzo. The lower part of the walls has white marble and dark marble baseboards. Above that, the walls are made of plaster. A simple cornice connects the walls to the ceiling.
A special mural called "The Indian Ladder" is on the wall above the postmaster's office. This mural was painted in 1940 by artist Sol Wilson. Many of the original furniture pieces are still there today.
History of the Delmar Post Office
Delmar has had a post office for a long time, since 1840. Before this building was built, the post office rented space in another building. The land where the current post office stands used to have a house on it. This house was taken down in the mid-1930s to make way for the new building.
The company Loucks and Clarke from Connecticut won the job to build the new post office. They started building in 1939. The new post office officially opened its doors the next year, in 1940.
Since it opened, the post office has only had one major change. The back part of the building was added in 1959. This was done because the amount of mail they handled had grown a lot.
Architectural Style
Louis Simon was the main architect for the United States Treasury Department at the time. The Post Office Department was under his control back then. He designed 13 post offices in New York. They all had a similar basic design.
However, the Delmar post office is special. It is the only one of these 13 buildings that did not have a small dome, or cupola, in its original design. For example, the post office in Attica had one when it was built, but it was removed later. This makes the Delmar post office unique among its sister buildings.
