United States Post Office (Mineola, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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Front entrance of post office
and portion of facade, 2008 |
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| Location | Mineola, NY |
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| Nearest city | New York City |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Peabody, Wilson & Brown |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002354 |
| Added to NRHP | 1989 |
The U.S. Post Office in Mineola, New York, handles mail for the ZIP Code 11501. This area includes parts of Mineola in the towns of North Hempstead and Hempstead, New York. Mineola is also the main town for Nassau County on Long Island. You can find the post office on the northeast corner where First and Main Streets meet.
This building is made of brick and was built in 1936. It features the Colonial Revival architectural style. It was part of a huge project during the Great Depression to build many new post offices across New York. What makes this post office special is its unusual hexagonal shape. This design allowed its main entrance to face southwest, towards the street corner. It was also one of the last projects by the famous architecture firm Peabody, Wilson & Brown. Because of its unique design and history, the Mineola Post Office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is the only building in Mineola on this list so far.
Building Design
The post office is a two-story building with a steel frame. All six sides are covered in brick laid in a special pattern called Flemish bond. The entrance area is made of granite and paved with bluestone. It has limestone along the edges and is lit by iron lampposts.
The main entrance has five sections, called bays. The middle three bays are set back a bit. They have limestone frames around the double doors. Above each window section, you'll see a round shape called a roundel and a bronze grille. These grilles have an abstract eagle design. The words "United States Post Office" are spelled out in bronze letters between the roundels. "Mineola, New York" is carved into the decorative band, called a frieze, above the main entrance. The building has a flat roof with limestone along the top edge.
Inside, the lobby still has its original pink Tennessee marble on the lower parts of the walls, called wainscoting. A darker marble baseboard runs along the bottom. Above the marble, the walls are covered in plaster. A decorative border, known as a molded cornice, connects the walls to the ceiling. The floor is made of terrazzo, which is a mix of chips and cement. It has brass strips that divide it into different colored areas. Unlike many post offices built in the 1930s, this one does not have a mural or other artwork in the lobby.
History of the Post Office
Mineola was a growing farming community when it became the main town for the new Nassau County in 1899. In the early 1900s, better trains and roads led to more people moving to Nassau County and the Mineola area. This growth meant the community needed new and better postal services.
In 1931, a law was changed to allow 136 new post offices to be built in New York. Sixteen of these were planned for Long Island, including Mineola. The land for the Mineola post office was bought in 1933. The architects for the project were Peabody, Wilson & Brown. This New York firm was known for designing large homes on Long Island. A.J. Paretta Contracting, from Long Island City, started building in 1935 and finished the next year.
The Mineola post office is the only federal building that the Peabody Wilson firm is known to have designed. It was also one of their last projects. The firm's work ended around this time.
Architectural Style
The Colonial Revival style was very popular for new post offices in New York starting in 1905. This style used elements from Colonial buildings without copying any specific old building. The Mineola post office shows this style in its entrance frames, triangular shapes called pediments, roundels, and windows.
The 1930s also saw new styles like Art Deco and modernist designs. These styles influenced the Mineola post office too. You can see this in its flat roof, wide limestone decorations, and the lack of traditional decorative edges at the roofline. The abstract eagle shapes in the roundel grilles also show a more modern touch than typical Colonial Revival designs.
