U.S. Post Office (Saratoga Springs, New York)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Post Office in Saratoga Springs
, New York, United States, is located at the junction of Broadway (US 9/NY 29
/NY 50
) and Church Street (NY 9N
) in the center of the city. It is an early 20th-century brick structure in the Classical Revival
architectural style
, designed by James Knox Taylor
, supervising architect for the Treasury Department
. The post office
serves the ZIP Code
12866, covering the city of Saratoga Springs.
At the time of its construction and opening it had one of the most elaborate lobbies
of any post office in the state. Two murals depicting the city's race track
were added to it in the 1930s. The lobby has since been altered somewhat, but enough of the building's integrity and original design remains that it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989. It had already been a contributing property
to the Broadway Historic District
since that was first designated in 1978.
city hall. On the far corner is the elaborate, massive Ainsworth Building, and the 1916 Beaux-Arts marble Adirondack Trust Company building faces the post office across Church Street.
It is rectangular, one story high, three bays
by four with a flat roof
and faced in yellow pressed Roman brick
on a foundation
of finished granite
. Both marble and limestone
are used as trim. Above the window level a limestone egg-and-dart
course
goes around the building. Above it is an entablature
with a frieze
decorated with a geometric pattern of red and yellow brick. The cornice
is dentilled with plain modillions and shallow panels between. The short roof parapet
has limestone coping
and, ar a higher section over the main entrance, foliated
brackets
.
The middle bay
on the east (front) elevation projects. It is a semicircular arch with a plainly molded
archivolt
supported by freestanding Doric
columns of veined and polished marble. A recessed bronze
screen has windows in the top and the main doors below. Granite steps with a central bronze rail lead up to it. The original heavy bronze doors are still in place although they have been funcationally replaced by modern aluminum doors. A Greek key design is embellished around the doors, and "POST OFFICE" is written above.
The flanking windows, and the easternmost bays on the north and south facades, have a similar treatment except for the columns being pedestal
ed on a balustrade. The other window openings on the north and south facade
s are recessed, their plain limestone sills supported by brackets
. Their arches have windows with radiating wooden muntins. A small vertical window is located between the easternmost, projecting bay and the next one. On the south facade a wheelchair ramp
climbs up and offers access at this point. The north side has an open brick loading dock
that covers part of the rear.
Inside, the lobby has a 14-foot–high (4.3 m) plaster coffer
ed ceiling with a central leaded glass
skylight, curved to match the angle of the rear wall. The walls themselves are lined with segmented recessed arches, topped by an egg-and-dart cornice. The entrance arch has a similar surround. On either side of the vestibule
are murals by Guy Pène du Bois
entitled Saratoga in the Racing Season.
The floor has modern carpeting; a white marble baseboard and green marble wainscoting surround part of the lobby. A 9-foot–high (3 m) screenline with post office box
es divides it in half. Teller windows are on the north side.
built its first resort hotel in 1802. The first two were run out of local merchants' stores. Later in the 19th century it was moved to a local office building, like the first two located on Broadway, the city's main street. The present site was acquired for almost $125,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) in the early years of the 20th century.
It was one of the last buildings designed by James Knox Taylor
, then Supervising Architect for the Treasury Department
. He had already established the neoclassical style of the day as his preferred choice for public buildings, to reflect an embrace of the classically influenced ideals of the country's Founding Fathers. The Saratoga post office shares its arched openings with two others in New York (Johnstown and Ithaca
), but its Renaissance Revival touches, the columns and decorative
brickwork
, are found only one other of his post offices in New York, in Olean
, designed around the same time. Both aspects make it harmonize well with the other buildings on the intersection, the city hall and Ainsworth Block across Broadway with similarly Italian Renaissance-inspired features and the classically inspired decor on the bank building on the neighboring corner of Church Street.
At the time it was opened the building's lobby was one of the most elaborate in the state. This has been compromised by the removal of the screenline and the substitution of a modern partition wall in the center.
The murals were added in 1936–37 under the Treasury Relief Arts Program. The loading dock was added in 1961, and in 1974 the lobby was altered. The original exterior light fixtures have also been replaced. There have been no other major changes to the building.
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
, New York, United States, is located at the junction of Broadway (US 9/NY 29
New York State Route 29
New York State Route 29 is a state highway extending for across the eastern portion of the U.S. state of New York. The western terminus of the route is at NY 28 and NY 169 in Middleville, Herkimer County. The eastern terminus of the route is at NY 22 just south of Salem,...
/NY 50
New York State Route 50
New York State Route 50 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in Scotia...
) and Church Street (NY 9N
New York State Route 9N
New York State Route 9N is a north–south state highway in northeastern New York, United States. It extends from an intersection with U.S. Route 9 , NY 29, and NY 50 in the city of Saratoga Springs to a junction with US 9 and NY 22 in the Clinton County village of...
) in the center of the city. It is an early 20th-century brick structure in the Classical Revival
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...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
, designed by James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ex officio as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period.-Early career:The son of H...
, 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...
. The post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
serves the 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...
12866, covering the city of Saratoga Springs.
At the time of its construction and opening it had one of the most elaborate lobbies
Lobby (room)
A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall.Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression....
of any post office in the state. Two murals depicting the city's race track
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
were added to it in the 1930s. The lobby has since been altered somewhat, but enough of the building's integrity and original design remains that 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...
in 1989. It had already been 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 Broadway Historic District
Broadway Historic District (Saratoga Springs, New York)
The Broadway Historic District is located along that street in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It has a twofold character. The southern section is the commercial core of the city, with many of its important public and private buildings, most intact from the its peak days as a resort town...
since that was first designated in 1978.
Building
The post office is set back somewhat from Broadway. There are mature trees and some landscaping between the sidewalk and street. It is one of four notable buildings at the busy intersection. Across the street is the city's ItalianateItalianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
city hall. On the far corner is the elaborate, massive Ainsworth Building, and the 1916 Beaux-Arts marble Adirondack Trust Company building faces the post office across Church Street.
It is rectangular, one story high, three bays
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:...
by four with a flat roof
Flat roof
A flat roof is a type of covering of a building. In contrast to the sloped form of a roof, a flat roof is horizontal or nearly horizontal. Materials that cover flat roofs typically allow the water to run off freely from a very slight inclination....
and faced in yellow pressed Roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
on a 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:...
of finished granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Both marble and 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....
are used as trim. Above the window level a limestone egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is...
course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
goes around the building. Above it is an 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 ,...
with a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
decorated with a geometric pattern of red and yellow brick. The 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 dentilled with plain modillions and shallow panels between. The short roof 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...
has limestone coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
and, ar a higher section over the main entrance, foliated
Foliation
In mathematics, a foliation is a geometric device used to study manifolds, consisting of an integrable subbundle of the tangent bundle. A foliation looks locally like a decomposition of the manifold as a union of parallel submanifolds of smaller dimension....
brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
.
The middle 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:...
on the east (front) elevation projects. It is a semicircular arch with a plainly molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
archivolt
Archivolt
An archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
supported by freestanding Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns of veined and polished marble. A recessed bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
screen has windows in the top and the main doors below. Granite steps with a central bronze rail lead up to it. The original heavy bronze doors are still in place although they have been funcationally replaced by modern aluminum doors. A Greek key design is embellished around the doors, and "POST OFFICE" is written above.
The flanking windows, and the easternmost bays on the north and south facades, have a similar treatment except for the columns being pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....
ed on a balustrade. The other window openings on the north and south 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"....
s are recessed, their plain limestone sills supported by brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
. Their arches have windows with radiating wooden muntins. A small vertical window is located between the easternmost, projecting bay and the next one. On the south facade 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....
climbs up and offers access at this point. The north side has an open brick 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....
that covers part of the rear.
Inside, the lobby has a 14-foot–high (4.3 m) plaster coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling with a central leaded glass
Leaded glass
Leaded glass may refer to:*Lead glass, potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with a small amount of lead oxide in its fabrication...
skylight, curved to match the angle of the rear wall. The walls themselves are lined with segmented recessed arches, topped by an egg-and-dart cornice. The entrance arch has a similar surround. On either side of the 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...
are murals by Guy Pène du Bois
Guy Pène du Bois
Guy Pène du Bois was an early 20th century American painter. Born in the US to a French family, his work specialised in the culture and society around him: cafes, theatres, and in the twenties, flappers....
entitled Saratoga in the Racing Season.
The floor has modern carpeting; a white marble baseboard and green marble wainscoting surround part of the lobby. A 9-foot–high (3 m) screenline with post office box
Post Office box
A post-office box or Post Office box is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station....
es divides it in half. Teller windows are on the north side.
History
Saratoga Springs has had a post office since founder Gideon PutnamGideon Putnam
Gideon Putnam was an entrepreneur and a founder of Saratoga Springs, New York. He also worked as a miller and built the city's Grand Union and Congress Hotels...
built its first resort hotel in 1802. The first two were run out of local merchants' stores. Later in the 19th century it was moved to a local office building, like the first two located on Broadway, the city's main street. The present site was acquired for almost $125,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) in the early years of the 20th century.
It was one of the last buildings designed by James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ex officio as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period.-Early career:The son of H...
, 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...
. He had already established the neoclassical style of the day as his preferred choice for public buildings, to reflect an embrace of the classically influenced ideals of the country's Founding Fathers. The Saratoga post office shares its arched openings with two others in New York (Johnstown and Ithaca
U.S. Post Office (Ithaca, New York)
US Post Office-Ithaca is a historic post office building located at Ithaca in Tompkins County, New York. It was designed and built in 1909 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 Knox Taylor.It...
), but its Renaissance Revival touches, the columns and decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
brickwork
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
, are found only one other of his post offices in New York, in Olean
U.S. Post Office (Olean, New York)
US Post Office—Olean is a historic post office building located at Olean in Cattaraugus County, New York. It was designed and built in 1910-12 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 Knox Taylor....
, designed around the same time. Both aspects make it harmonize well with the other buildings on the intersection, the city hall and Ainsworth Block across Broadway with similarly Italian Renaissance-inspired features and the classically inspired decor on the bank building on the neighboring corner of Church Street.
At the time it was opened the building's lobby was one of the most elaborate in the state. This has been compromised by the removal of the screenline and the substitution of a modern partition wall in the center.
The murals were added in 1936–37 under the Treasury Relief Arts Program. The loading dock was added in 1961, and in 1974 the lobby was altered. The original exterior light fixtures have also been replaced. There have been no other major changes to the building.