U.S. Post Office (Le Roy, New York)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Post Office in Le Roy
, New York, serves the 14428 ZIP Code
, covering the village and town
of Le Roy. It is a brick and stone building on Main Street (New York State Route 5
) erected in the late 1930s.
Its Colonial Revival
design, featuring a hipped roof
and limestone
facing, is unique among post offices in the state as the only small one with a clock tower
or limestone
facing. This is a result of half of the construction being financed privately by a local benefactor. In 1989 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the only one in Genesee County
so recognized independently.The 1919 Batavia
post office, though determined ineligible for inclusion on the Register, is still a contributing property
to the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District
per , p. 59.
). To its east a 25 feet (7.6 m) stone retaining wall
separates it from Oatka Creek
, next to a partial dam. South and west are other commercial properties; a parking lot is located to the north. The lot slopes significantly enough due to the proximity of the creek, exposing the basement on the north (rear) side.
The building itself is an almost square one-story steel frame
structure, five bay
s on the south (front), east and north and six on the west. It is faced in coursed
ashlar
limestone
and topped by a hipped roof
shingled in slate, set off by a shallow cornice
and parapet
with balustraded sections above the windows, around the entire roofline. In the center is a square wooden cupola
with a dome, illuminated electric clock and weather vane
. A wide stone chimney rises from the rear.
In the center of the south facade
is the recessed main entryway, flanked by metal lanterns. Above the doors are a large radiating fanlight
and a small hood supported by stone consoles. It is flanked by 12-over-12 double-hung wooden sash window
s. At the end bays are recessed niches with small semicircular openings at the top. Above all the windows are carved panels depicting, in alternation, garlands
and postal motifs. Metal letters affixed above them, below the cornice
, spell out "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE" with smaller letters saying "LE ROY NEW YORK" in the frieze
above the doors.
At the south end of the side facades are double-recessed arched 20-over-15 sash window
s on slightly projecting portions with carved medallions. Other windows on those facades are identical to the flanking windows on the front. A wooden canopy shelters the loading dock
at the rear.
Walled stone steps lead to the modern double metal-and-glass double doors at the main entrance. They open into a wooden vestibule
. Behind it is the L-shaped main lobby, occupying four of the front five bays and stretching around the southwest corner. The postmaster's office is in the southeast corner.
It retains many original finishes, from black and white checkerboard terrazzo
flooring, black marble borders and baseboard
and veined gray marble wainscoting to seven feet (7 feet (2.1 m)) along the walls. Above is a plaster wall and ceiling with molded
cornice. The insides of the windows are also recessed and decorated with beaded molding. The screenline features unusual angled glass and metal grilles above the teller windows and lockboxes.
, covering the vast majority of the other land in Western New York
, was initiated. The intersection of the creek and a major Iroquois
trail through the region (today Route 5) made it an ideal place for a mill. By 1804 it had a post office, and 30 years later it was incorporated as a village.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the post office was housed in a variety of rented or leased locations in the village. In 1929, Congress, lobbied by local resident Ernest L. Woodward, heir to the Jell-O
fortune, authorized the construction of a dedicated facility in the village and appropriated funds for its construction as an amendment to the Public Buildings Act
. It took longer to start and complete than other New Deal
post offices in New York, partly due to Woodward's involvement.
Congress reiterated its authorization in another amendment two years later passed in response to the onset of the Great Depression
, after Woodward donated land federal and state inspectors approved after flying over it.
Despite the lack of adequate frontage
, it had other advantages that made it an ideal site. The Treasury Department
, which oversaw postal construction, asked Woodward to obtain additional land along the creek from the Niagara Hudson Company, the local electric utility, for a retaining wall. He did, but the Treasury refused to accept the deed
over concerns about liability the government might face from past flood damage. After many trips to Washington to lobby officials there, Woodward resolved the impasse by obtaining a surety bond
absolving Niagara Hudson.
Woodward suggested that Rochester
architect James Arnold, who was familiar with Le Roy's downtown, be commissioned to design the building. The recommendation was accepted, and Arnold promptly produced a building. It was reported to be "almost an exact copy" of the Radcliffe Library
at Oxford University. Woodward, U.S. Representative
Archie D. Sanders
, the postmaster and village officials sent a petition to Treasury requesting that the stone used be native to the area.
Due to the change in presidential administrations and the beginning of the New Deal
, a final appropriation was delayed. In November 1933 the budget was halved when president Franklin D. Roosevelt
decided to focus on reforestation
instead. Many village residents reconsidered whether a post office that reflected the community could be built with the limited funds available. Woodward rallied residents to lobby for the restoration of the full appropriation, and they secured it the next year. Most of the money allocated would go to building the retaining wall
, after the village and the government resolved a dispute over which of them would pay for how much.
Construction was plagued by problems from the start. No local stonecutters
were available, and Indiana limestone
was therefore substituted for local stone. The low bidder
on the job, a Kenmore
contractor, went bankrupt
before construction could begin in late 1935. The bonding
company chose a Rochester firm to replace it, and the cornerstone
was laid in August 1936, without any of the usual ceremonies. After learning that the contractor had bid on the assumption that they were to be building a brick structure, Woodward paid for the limestone facing himself.
He further intervened to delay the building's scheduled opening in the spring of 1937, dissatisfied with the roof. He felt the original flat roof, a feature of many post offices of the era, looked "squatty" and undistinguished. That summer plans for the current roof, with clock tower, were approved, and construction began again. The building was finally dedicated in 1938, almost two years to the day after construction began. It was estimated that the total cost of construction, including the monies donated by Woodward, was almost $90,000 ($ in contemporary dollars). As a result of his contribution, the Le Roy post office is the only small one in the state with a clock tower
and limestone facing. Its hipped roof
with parapet
is also distinctive.
Le Roy (village), New York
Le Roy is a village in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 4,462 at the 2000 census.The Village of Le Roy lies in the center of the Town of Le Roy at the intersection of Routes 5 and 19.- History :...
, New York, serves the 14428 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...
, covering the village and town
Le Roy (town), New York
Le Roy, or more commonly LeRoy, is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 7,790 at the 2000 census. The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy....
of Le Roy. It is a brick and stone building on Main Street (New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
) erected in the late 1930s.
Its Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
design, featuring a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
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....
facing, is unique among post offices in the state as the only small one with a clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
or 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....
facing. This is a result of half of the construction being financed privately by a local benefactor. In 1989 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 one in Genesee County
Genesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
so recognized independently.The 1919 Batavia
Batavia (city), New York
Batavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
post office, though determined ineligible for inclusion on the Register, is still 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 Genesee County Courthouse Historic District
Genesee County Courthouse Historic District
The Genesee County Courthouse Historic District is located at the junction of Main, West Main and Ellicott streets in downtown Batavia, New York, United States. It is a small area with the county courthouse, a war memorial and other government buildings dating from the 1840s to the 1920s...
per , p. 59.
Building
The post office is located at the northeast corner of Main and Mill streets, at the eastern edge of downtown Le Roy, two blocks east of the Clay and Lake street (New York State Route 19New York State Route 19
New York State Route 19 is a north–south state highway in Western New York in the United States. It is the longest state highway in that region, and the only other one besides NY 14 to completely transect the state from the Pennsylvania state line to the shore of Lake Ontario...
). To its east a 25 feet (7.6 m) stone retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
separates it from Oatka Creek
Oatka Creek
Oatka Creek is the third longest tributary of the Genesee River, located entirely in the Western New York region of the U.S. state of New York. From southern Wyoming County, it flows to the Genesee near Scottsville, draining an area of that includes all or part of 23 towns and villages in...
, next to a partial dam. South and west are other commercial properties; a parking lot is located to the north. The lot slopes significantly enough due to the proximity of the creek, exposing the basement on the north (rear) side.
The building itself is an almost square one-story steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
structure, 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:...
s on the south (front), east and north and six on the west. It is faced in coursed
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:...
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
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....
and topped by a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
shingled in slate, set off by a shallow 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...
and 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 balustraded sections above the windows, around the entire roofline. In the center is a square wooden cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with a dome, illuminated electric clock and weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
. A wide stone chimney rises from the rear.
In the center of the 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"....
is the recessed main entryway, flanked by metal lanterns. Above the doors are a large radiating fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
and a small hood supported by stone consoles. It is flanked by 12-over-12 double-hung wooden sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s. At the end bays are recessed niches with small semicircular openings at the top. Above all the windows are carved panels depicting, in alternation, garlands
Garland (decoration)
A garland is a decorative wreath or cord, used at festive occasions, which can be hung round a person's neck, or on inanimate objects like Christmas trees. Originally garlands were made of flowers or leaves.-Etymology:...
and postal motifs. Metal letters affixed above them, below 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...
, spell out "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE" with smaller letters saying "LE ROY NEW YORK" in the 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...
above the doors.
At the south end of the side facades are double-recessed arched 20-over-15 sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s on slightly projecting portions with carved medallions. Other windows on those facades are identical to the flanking windows on the front. A wooden canopy shelters the 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....
at the rear.
Walled stone steps lead to the modern double metal-and-glass double doors at the main entrance. They open into a wooden 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...
. Behind it is the L-shaped main lobby, occupying four of the front five bays and stretching around the southwest corner. The postmaster's office is in the southeast corner.
It retains many original finishes, from black and white checkerboard terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
flooring, black marble borders and baseboard
Baseboard
In architecture, a baseboard is a board covering the lowest part of an interior wall...
and veined gray marble wainscoting to seven feet (7 feet (2.1 m)) along the walls. Above is a plaster wall and ceiling with 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...
cornice. The insides of the windows are also recessed and decorated with beaded molding. The screenline features unusual angled glass and metal grilles above the teller windows and lockboxes.
History
Le Roy was established in the last years of the 18th century, before the Holland PurchaseHolland Purchase
The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...
, covering the vast majority of the other land in Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, was initiated. The intersection of the creek and a major Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
trail through the region (today Route 5) made it an ideal place for a mill. By 1804 it had a post office, and 30 years later it was incorporated as a village.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the post office was housed in a variety of rented or leased locations in the village. In 1929, Congress, lobbied by local resident Ernest L. Woodward, heir to the Jell-O
Jell-O
Jell-O is a brand name belonging to U.S.-based Kraft Foods for a number of gelatin desserts, including fruit gels, puddings and no-bake cream pies. The brand's popularity has led to it being used as a generic term for gelatin dessert across the U.S. and Canada....
fortune, authorized the construction of a dedicated facility in the village and appropriated funds for its construction as an amendment to the Public Buildings Act
Public Buildings Act
The Public Buildings Act of 1926, also known as the Elliot-Fernald Act, was a statute which governed the construction of federal buildings throughout the United States, and authorized funding for this construction. Its primary sponsor in the House of Representatives was Representative Richard N...
. It took longer to start and complete than other New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
post offices in New York, partly due to Woodward's involvement.
Congress reiterated its authorization in another amendment two years later passed in response to the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, after Woodward donated land federal and state inspectors approved after flying over it.
Despite the lack of adequate frontage
Frontage
Frontage is the full length of a plot of land or a building measured alongside the road on to which the plot or building fronts. This is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax...
, it had other advantages that made it an ideal site. 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...
, which oversaw postal construction, asked Woodward to obtain additional land along the creek from the Niagara Hudson Company, the local electric utility, for a retaining wall. He did, but the Treasury refused to accept the deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
over concerns about liability the government might face from past flood damage. After many trips to Washington to lobby officials there, Woodward resolved the impasse by obtaining a surety bond
Surety bond
A surety bond is a promise to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract...
absolving Niagara Hudson.
Woodward suggested that Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
architect James Arnold, who was familiar with Le Roy's downtown, be commissioned to design the building. The recommendation was accepted, and Arnold promptly produced a building. It was reported to be "almost an exact copy" of the Radcliffe Library
Radcliffe Science Library
The Radcliffe Science Library is the main teaching and research science library at the University of Oxford, England.Being officially part of the Bodleian Library, although with a completely separate building, the library holds the Legal Deposit material for the sciences and is thus entitled to...
at Oxford University. Woodward, U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Archie D. Sanders
Archie D. Sanders
Archie Dovell Sanders was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.Sanders was born in Stafford, New York. He served in the New York State Assembly from 1895 until 1896. He was a delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention and the 1924 Republican...
, the postmaster and village officials sent a petition to Treasury requesting that the stone used be native to the area.
Due to the change in presidential administrations and the beginning of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, a final appropriation was delayed. In November 1933 the budget was halved when president Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
decided to focus on reforestation
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
instead. Many village residents reconsidered whether a post office that reflected the community could be built with the limited funds available. Woodward rallied residents to lobby for the restoration of the full appropriation, and they secured it the next year. Most of the money allocated would go to building the retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
, after the village and the government resolved a dispute over which of them would pay for how much.
Construction was plagued by problems from the start. No local stonecutters
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
were available, and Indiana limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
was therefore substituted for local stone. The low bidder
Unique bid auction
A unique bid auction is a type of strategy game related to traditional auctions where the winner is usually the individual with the lowest unique bid, although less commonly the auction rules may specify that the highest unique bid is the winner...
on the job, a Kenmore
Kenmore, New York
Village of Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York, in the United States. The population was 16,426 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area....
contractor, went bankrupt
Bankruptcy in the United States
Bankruptcy in the United States is governed under the United States Constitution which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the Bankruptcy...
before construction could begin in late 1935. The bonding
Performance bond
A performance bond is a surety bond issued by an insurance company or a bank to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor.A job requiring a payment & performance bond will usually require a bid bond, to bid the job...
company chose a Rochester firm to replace it, and the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid in August 1936, without any of the usual ceremonies. After learning that the contractor had bid on the assumption that they were to be building a brick structure, Woodward paid for the limestone facing himself.
He further intervened to delay the building's scheduled opening in the spring of 1937, dissatisfied with the roof. He felt the original flat roof, a feature of many post offices of the era, looked "squatty" and undistinguished. That summer plans for the current roof, with clock tower, were approved, and construction began again. The building was finally dedicated in 1938, almost two years to the day after construction began. It was estimated that the total cost of construction, including the monies donated by Woodward, was almost $90,000 ($ in contemporary dollars). As a result of his contribution, the Le Roy post office is the only small one in the state with a clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
and limestone facing. Its hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
with 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...
is also distinctive.