U.S. Post Office (Hoosick Falls, New York)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Post Office in Hoosick Falls
, New York, is located on Main Street a block south of downtown
. It is a brick building erected in the mid-1920s, serving the 12090 ZIP Code
, which covers the village of Hoosick Falls and surrounding portions of the Town of Hoosick
.
It took the government nine years to build after the land was acquired. One of several similar post offices in New York built at that time, it has retained its historic integrity better than some of the others. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the only post office in Rensselaer County
besides Troy's
with that distinction.
. It is also located on the west side of Main Street, across from a small park and Hoosick Falls's village hall. A three-story mixed-use
building, a contributing property
to the historic district, is to the north. To the south, on the opposite corner of]] a small street, is a residence converted to commercial use. The post office's parking lot is on its west, with a small strip of lawn and flagpole between it and Main on the east. The ground slopes gently to the west.
It is a one-story, five-by-five-bay
building of wire-cut brick, rectangular with a non-contributing loading dock
added to the rear. Its raised foundation
is also brick, with a stone water table. At the roofline a limestone
cornice
is topped with a brick parapet
with limestone baluster
s above the front bays.
The east (front) facade
has a centrally located main entrance flanked by two windows on either side set in shallow arched recesses. The entrance has a modern aluminum double door with original wooden transom
inside a pair of fluted
limestone Ionic
pilaster
s topped by a plain entablature
in which "U.S. POST OFFICE HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. 12090" is carved. Two small windows are on either side. Above it is a denticulated triangular limestone pediment
. Concrete steps with iron railings lead up to the entrance, with a wheelchair ramp
coming in from the north.
On the north and south, the center bays have paired windows with segmental arches and brick lintels. The corner windows are identical to those on the front. Window wells let light into the basement. The rear has three original windows and the flat-roofed central wing with the loading platform.
Inside, the lobby, reached through a long vestibule
with bulletin boards, is minimally decorated. The mosaic tile
floor is white with a green border. Above black marble baseboards, the walls have wooden wainscoting rising to a plaster cornice
at the high ceiling. Two single-paned windows with top and bottom pivots are located just below the ceiling. There are two original wooden tables with glass tops.
flowing through the village. It had previously been in rented quarters on Church Street (NY 22
), a block from its current location.
The authorization was followed by approriations
in the next Congresses, through 1919, making a total of $80,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) available. After the first one, the federal government purchased the land in 1916 for $13,451 ($ in contemporary dollars).
It took seven years until the post office was designed in 1923. Construction began the following year, and the new building was opened in 1925. The design is credited to James A. Wetmore, then supervising architect for the Treasury Department
, but as he was not actually an architect the actual design is probably that of Louis Simon, who succeeded him in that position until its abolition in 1939.
The Hoosick Falls post office is one of a group of six similar post offices built in New York State around the mid-1920s. They all show the strong classical influences
on the style, with symmetrical front facades with recessed arcading
and pediments and pilasters as ornamentation. Two of them — Owego
and Waterloo
— are listed on the Register as well, while the other three (Cohoes, Saranac Lake and Walden) are not due to loss of integrity. A similar design was used for the Lyons
post office six years later.
In 1956, the loading dock was added to the rear. Other than that, there have been no other significant additions to the building.
Hoosick Falls, New York
Hoosick Falls is a village in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 3,182 at the 2010 census, a decline of 254 since 2000. During its peak around 1900, the village had a population of about 7,000...
, New York, is located on Main Street a block south of downtown
Hoosick Falls Historic District
The Hoosick Falls Historic District is located in the downtown section of the village of that name in New York, United States. It is an eight-acre area concentrated along Church, Classic and John streets south of the Hoosick River....
. It is a brick building erected in the mid-1920s, serving the 12090 ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, which covers the village of Hoosick Falls and surrounding portions of the Town of Hoosick
Hoosick, New York
Hoosick is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 6,759 at the 2000 census.The Town of Hoosick is in the northeast corner of the county.- History :...
.
It took the government nine years to build after the land was acquired. One of several similar post offices in New York built at that time, it has retained its historic integrity better than some of the others. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the only post office in Rensselaer County
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
besides Troy's
U.S. Post Office (Troy, New York)
The U.S. Post Office in Troy, New York, United States, is located at 400 Broadway, on the corners of Fourth and William Streets, the tenth location it has occupied in the city's history. It serves the ZIP Codes 12179 through 12182, which cover different sections of the city...
with that distinction.
Building
The post office is located two blocks from downtown Hoosick Falls, just outside the village's historic districtHistoric district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. It is also located on the west side of Main Street, across from a small park and Hoosick Falls's village hall. A three-story mixed-use
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
building, a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the historic district, is to the north. To the south, on the opposite corner of]] a small street, is a residence converted to commercial use. The post office's parking lot is on its west, with a small strip of lawn and flagpole between it and Main on the east. The ground slopes gently to the west.
It is a one-story, five-by-five-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
building of wire-cut brick, rectangular with a non-contributing loading dock
Loading dock
A loading dock is a recessed bay in a building or facility where trucks are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings, and warehouses in particular....
added to the rear. Its raised foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
is also brick, with a stone water table. At the roofline a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
is topped with a brick parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with limestone baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s above the front bays.
The east (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has a centrally located main entrance flanked by two windows on either side set in shallow arched recesses. The entrance has a modern aluminum double door with original wooden transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
inside a pair of fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
limestone Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s topped by a plain entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
in which "U.S. POST OFFICE HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. 12090" is carved. Two small windows are on either side. Above it is a denticulated triangular limestone pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. Concrete steps with iron railings lead up to the entrance, with a wheelchair ramp
Wheelchair ramp
A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building....
coming in from the north.
On the north and south, the center bays have paired windows with segmental arches and brick lintels. The corner windows are identical to those on the front. Window wells let light into the basement. The rear has three original windows and the flat-roofed central wing with the loading platform.
Inside, the lobby, reached through a long vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
with bulletin boards, is minimally decorated. The mosaic tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
floor is white with a green border. Above black marble baseboards, the walls have wooden wainscoting rising to a plaster cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
at the high ceiling. Two single-paned windows with top and bottom pivots are located just below the ceiling. There are two original wooden tables with glass tops.
History
In 1913 Congress authorized the construction of the new post office in Hoosick Falls, which had grown extensively during a late-19th century period of industrialization as factories and textile mills tapped the power of the Hoosic RiverHoosic River
The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick and the Hoosuck , is a tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name...
flowing through the village. It had previously been in rented quarters on Church Street (NY 22
New York State Route 22
New York State Route 22 is a north–south state highway in eastern New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the state's eastern edge from the outskirts of New York City to a short distance south of the Canadian border. At , it is the state's longest north–south route and...
), a block from its current location.
The authorization was followed by approriations
Appropriation bill
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
in the next Congresses, through 1919, making a total of $80,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) available. After the first one, the federal government purchased the land in 1916 for $13,451 ($ in contemporary dollars).
It took seven years until the post office was designed in 1923. Construction began the following year, and the new building was opened in 1925. The design is credited to James A. Wetmore, then supervising architect for the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
, but as he was not actually an architect the actual design is probably that of Louis Simon, who succeeded him in that position until its abolition in 1939.
The Hoosick Falls post office is one of a group of six similar post offices built in New York State around the mid-1920s. They all show the strong classical influences
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
on the style, with symmetrical front facades with recessed arcading
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
and pediments and pilasters as ornamentation. Two of them — Owego
U.S. Post Office (Owego, New York)
US Post Office-Owego is a historic post office building located at Owego in Tioga County, New York. It was designed in 1917 and built in 1919-1920 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, James A. Wetmore...
and Waterloo
U.S. Post Office (Waterloo, New York)
US Post Office-Waterloo is a historic post office building located at Waterloo in Seneca County, New York. It was designed and built in 1924 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, James A. Wetmore. It...
— are listed on the Register as well, while the other three (Cohoes, Saranac Lake and Walden) are not due to loss of integrity. A similar design was used for the Lyons
U.S. Post Office (Lyons, New York)
US Post Office-Lyons is a historic post office building located at Lyons in Wayne County, New York. It was designed and built in 1931–1932 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, James A. Wetmore...
post office six years later.
In 1956, the loading dock was added to the rear. Other than that, there have been no other significant additions to the building.