United States Post Office (Hoosick Falls, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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East elevation and partial south profile, 2008
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| Location | Hoosick Falls, NY |
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| Nearest city | Bennington, VT |
| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | Louis A. Simon; Office of the Supervising Architect under James A. Wetmore |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | U.S. Post Offices in New York State, 1858–1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002506 |
| Added to NRHP | 1988 |
The U.S. Post Office in Hoosick Falls, New York, is an important building. It's on Main Street, just a short walk from the main part of town. This brick building was built in the mid-1920s. It helps deliver mail for the 12090 ZIP code, which covers Hoosick Falls village and the nearby Town of Hoosick.
It took the government nine years to finish this post office after they bought the land. This building is one of several similar post offices built in New York around that time. It has stayed in great shape, better than some of the others. In 1988, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of places important to history. It's the only post office in Rensselaer County on this list, besides the one in Troy.
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About the Building
The post office is located near downtown Hoosick Falls. It sits on the west side of Main Street. Across the street, you'll find a small park and the village hall. To the north is a three-story building that's part of the historic area. To the south, there's a house that's now used for businesses. The post office has its own parking lot behind it. A small grassy area and a flagpole are between the building and Main Street. The ground gently slopes down towards the back.
Building Design and Materials
The post office is a one-story building made of wire-cut brick. It has five sections on the front and sides, called bays. The building is shaped like a rectangle. A loading dock was added to the back later, which is not part of the original design.
The building sits on a raised brick foundation. A stone water table (a stone ledge) runs along the bottom. At the top of the walls, near the roof, there's a limestone cornice (a decorative molding). Above this, a brick parapet (a low wall) has limestone balusters (small posts) over the front sections.
Front Entrance and Windows
The front of the building faces east. The main entrance is in the middle. Two windows are on each side of the entrance. The entrance has modern aluminum double doors. Inside, there's an original wooden transom (a window above a door).
The entrance is framed by two fluted limestone pilasters (flat columns). These are topped by a plain stone section called an entablature. Carved into this stone are the words "U.S. POST OFFICE HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. 12090". Above this, a triangular limestone pediment (a triangular top part) has small tooth-like carvings. Concrete steps with iron railings lead up to the entrance. There is also a wheelchair ramp for easy access.
On the north and south sides of the building, the middle windows are paired. They have rounded tops and brick frames. The windows at the corners are the same as those on the front. Small window wells let light into the basement. The back of the building has three original windows. It also has a flat-roofed central section with the loading platform.
Inside the Lobby
When you go inside, you enter a long vestibule (an entrance hall) with bulletin boards. The main lobby is simply decorated. The floor is made of mosaic tiles, white with a green border. The walls have black marble at the bottom. Above that, wooden wainscoting (wooden panels) goes up to a plaster cornice at the high ceiling. Two single-paned windows are located just below the ceiling. You can also find two original wooden tables with glass tops in the lobby.
History of the Post Office
In 1913, the U.S. Congress decided that Hoosick Falls needed a new post office. The village had grown a lot in the late 1800s. Many factories and textile mills were built there. They used the power of the Hoosic River that flows through the village. Before this, the post office was in a rented building on Church Street.
Congress approved money for the new building over several years, until 1919. In total, $80,000 was set aside for the project. After the first money was approved, the government bought the land in 1916 for $13,451.
It took seven years to design the post office, which happened in 1923. Construction started the next year, in 1924. The new building officially opened in 1925. The design is credited to the Office of the Supervising Architect under James A. Wetmore, and the chief architect, Louis A. Simon.
The Hoosick Falls post office is one of six similar post offices built in New York State around the mid-1920s. They all show strong classical influences in their design. This means they have:
- Symmetrical front sides
- Recessed arches
- Pediments (triangular tops)
- Pilasters (flat columns) for decoration
Two of these other post offices, in Owego and Waterloo, are also on the National Register of Historic Places. The other three (Cohoes, Saranac Lake, and Walden) are not, because they have changed too much over time. A similar design was also used for the Lyons post office six years later.
In 1956, the loading dock was added to the back of the building. Other than this, the building has not had any other big changes.
