United States Post Office (Poughkeepsie, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Post Office
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Post office viewed looking north on Market Street, 2007
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| Location | 55 Mansion St. Poughkeepsie, NY |
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| Built | 1937-39 |
| Architect | Gerald Foster, Eric Kebbon |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | US Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002413 |
| Added to NRHP | 1989 |
The main U.S. Post Office in Poughkeepsie, New York, is an important building. It is located downtown where Market and Mansion Streets meet. The official address is 55 Mansion Street. This Post Office serves the 12601 ZIP Code. This area includes the city of Poughkeepsie and parts of the nearby Town of Poughkeepsie. About 100 people work here. They handle a huge amount of mail, around 300,000 pieces every day! That's about 10 million pieces each year.
Contents
Building History: How the Poughkeepsie Post Office Was Built
This post office was one of five built in Dutchess County during the New Deal. The New Deal was a series of programs in the 1930s. They were created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the country recover from the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built many public buildings like this one.
President Roosevelt's Special Interest
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was from Hyde Park, which is nearby. He took a very personal interest in the design of this building. Back in 1928, he had written about wanting to preserve old stone buildings. These buildings were built by early Dutch settlers in the Hudson Valley. He worried that these unique buildings were disappearing.
He believed that the simple style of these old stone houses was a great example. He thought everyone, rich or poor, should follow this style.
Designing the Post Office: A Unique Style
Before Poughkeepsie's post office, the nearby town of Beacon got a new post office. It was made of local fieldstone. When it was Poughkeepsie's turn, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau insisted on a specific design. He wanted it made of uneven fieldstone in the old Dutch style. It was meant to look like an old county courthouse that had been torn down.
The architect, Eric Kebbon, followed this idea. However, his first plan used granite stone. President Roosevelt personally told him to change the design. He wanted it to be exactly as he had imagined. Construction did not start until the design met his specific wishes.
Construction and Dedication
President Roosevelt himself laid the cornerstone for the building. This happened at a special dedication ceremony. The ceremony was part of the 250th anniversary celebration of Poughkeepsie's founding. It took place on October 13, 1937.
About 500 workers spent the next two years building the post office. It is a very large building, covering 63,000 square feet (about 5,670 square meters).
Art and Recognition
The finished building has a beautiful lobby. It features murals painted by WPA artists. These murals show six important moments in local and state history. One mural shows when New York approved the United States Constitution.
The success of this building's design was a big deal. It inspired President Roosevelt to push for similar stone post offices. These were built in other towns along the Hudson River in Dutchess County. The design also influenced the new offices built for the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper nearby. The Smithsonian Institution even picked this post office as one of the ten most beautiful in New York. It was also chosen as one of the 500 most beautiful in the whole country! It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
Recent Events: The 2008 Fire
On October 22, 2008, a small fire happened. The cupola, which is a small dome on the roof, was being fixed at the time. The fire caused the building to close for a few days. Luckily, the rest of the building was not damaged. Fire investigators said the fire was likely an accident. They believed it was caused by heat guns used by the painters working on the cupola.
