United States Post Office (Goshen, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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Front (south) elevation, 2007
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| Location | 20 Grand St. Goshen, New York |
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| Built | 1935–6 |
| Architect | E.P. Valkenburgh |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002527 |
| Added to NRHP | May 11, 1989 |
The U.S. Post Office in Goshen, New York, is a special building. It's located right in the heart of downtown Goshen. This post office handles mail for ZIP Code 10924, which covers the village and town of Goshen.
This brick building was finished in 1936. It was designed in a style called Colonial Revival. Because of its unique look and history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. This means it's an important historical site!
The architect, E.P. Valkenburgh, designed this post office. It's smaller than many other Colonial Revival post offices built around the same time. But it has lots of cool decorations for a small building. Inside, you can see a large painting, called a mural. This mural shows a famous local place, the Historic Track. The mural was a bit controversial when the post office was first built.
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What Does the Post Office Look Like?
The Goshen Post Office is a one-and-a-half-story building. It's made of a steel frame and covered in special brick. It sits on the north side of Grand Street.
Outside Features
The front of the building has a slightly sticking-out section. This is where the main entrance is. The entrance is framed by columns that look like they're part of the wall. These columns hold up a flat, decorated section with a triangle shape on top. Inside this triangle, there's a cast iron eagle and the words "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE GOSHEN NEW YORK" in bronze letters.
On either side of the entrance, there are two windows. They have stone decorations and old-fashioned cast iron lanterns. The windows are slightly arched at the top.
The roof is very steep and covered in slate tiles. On top of the roof, there's an eight-sided tower called a cupola. It has openings with louvers, a copper dome, and a weather vane. The edge of the roof has decorative blocks called modillions.
Inside the Building
When you walk in, you enter a small area called a vestibule. It's made of original wood. This leads into the main lobby. The floor of the lobby is made of terrazzo, which is a mix of chips of marble or other materials.
The lower part of the walls has wooden panels. Above these panels, the walls curve up to a ceiling with stepped designs. The original lights have been changed to fluorescent lights. But the customer service windows and teller areas are still mostly the same. One area now has bronze lockboxes for mail.
On the east wall of the lobby, you'll find the amazing mural by Georgina Klitgaard. It's called "The Running of the Hambletonian Stake." This painting is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 11 feet wide. It shows a harness race happening at the nearby Historic Track.
Why is This Building Special?
The Goshen Post Office is smaller than many other Colonial Revival post offices built in New York during the Great Depression. Its design is unique and wasn't copied for other post offices in the state. For example, the post office in Catskill, another small town in the Hudson Valley, looks very different.
However, the Goshen Post Office does share some beautiful details with other Colonial Revival post offices from that time. Buildings like the ones in Dobbs Ferry and Hudson Falls also have steep roofs, decorated ends, and classic-looking entrances.
A Look Back: History of the Post Office
Goshen has had a post office since shortly after the American Revolution. Over the years, it moved to different buildings in the village. The current building was planned during a time when the government was trying to create jobs. This was part of the New Deal program during the Great Depression.
Building the New Post Office
In 1931, Congress decided to build many new public buildings. This was to help with the high unemployment rates at the start of the Depression. Money for the Goshen Post Office was set aside in 1934.
The chosen spot for the new post office was empty land. An old hotel had burned down there in 1920. In November 1934, the Treasury Department bought the land. Samuel Plato won the contract to build the post office for $85,000. That's about $1,810,000 in today's money ! The building was finished in early 1936.
The Mural's Story
Georgina Klitgaard's mural was added the next year, in 1937. Murals in post offices during this time were supposed to show local history or daily life. However, the Treasury Department didn't like her idea of painting the Historic Track. They thought harness racing was not a good topic for public art. They asked her to paint a landscape instead.
But the people of Goshen really wanted the track to be painted! They showed strong support for Klitgaard's idea. Because of the community's wishes, she was allowed to paint the harness race.
Since then, the building hasn't changed much. Some parts of the back interior have been updated. In 1978, a wheelchair ramp was added to the front for easier access.
