Wappingers Falls Village Hall
Encyclopedia
Wappingers Falls
Village Hall
is located at the corner of South Avenue (NY 9D
) and East Main Street in the Dutchess County
, New York
, USA municipality of that name. It was originally built in 1940 as the village's new post office
, a Works Progress Administration
project. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt took a personal interest in the project, as he already had with new post offices in other Dutchess County communities. He wanted it to be built of fieldstone
in the style of many Dutch colonial
houses in the Hudson Valley
, and chose the Brewer-Mesier House in the village as the model for its design. R. Stanley Miller, a local architect who had already designed the similar Rhinebeck post office
, was assigned the job.
In 1989 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It had already been a contributing property
to the Wappingers Falls Historic District
, added to the Register five years earlier. The U.S. Postal Service has since had to move to a larger building a few blocks away on East Main. The village moved most of its functions here and built a new wing — clapboard, not stone, but otherwise consistent with the original design — on the rear of the building to house its police department.
Wappingers Falls, New York
Wappingers Falls is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The name is derived from the local Wappinger Indians. One half of the village is in the town of Wappinger and the other half is in the town of Poughkeepsie, with Wappinger Creek forming the dividing line between the...
Village Hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
is located at the corner of South Avenue (NY 9D
New York State Route 9D
New York State Route 9D , also known as the Bear Mountain – Beacon Highway, is a north–south state highway that runs along the eastern shore of the Hudson River in New York in the United States. It starts at the eastern end of the Bear Mountain Bridge at U.S...
) and East Main Street in the Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA municipality of that name. It was originally built in 1940 as the village's new 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...
, a Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
project. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt took a personal interest in the project, as he already had with new post offices in other Dutchess County communities. He wanted it to be built of fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
in the style of many Dutch colonial
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
houses in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, and chose the Brewer-Mesier House in the village as the model for its design. R. Stanley Miller, a local architect who had already designed the similar Rhinebeck post office
U.S. Post Office (Rhinebeck, New York)
The U.S. Post Office in Rhinebeck, New York serves the 12572 ZIP Code. It is located on Mill Street just south of the intersection with NY 308 at the center of the village.It is a stone Colonial Revival structure built in 1940, during the New Deal...
, was assigned the job.
In 1989 the building 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...
. 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 Wappingers Falls Historic District
Wappingers Falls Historic District
The Wappingers Falls Historic District is in the center of that village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is a 90-acre area roughly centered along South Avenue and West Main Street NY 9D and Wappingers Creek...
, added to the Register five years earlier. The U.S. Postal Service has since had to move to a larger building a few blocks away on East Main. The village moved most of its functions here and built a new wing — clapboard, not stone, but otherwise consistent with the original design — on the rear of the building to house its police department.
See also
Other area post office buildings whose design Roosevelt influenced:- U.S. Post Office (Beacon, New York)U.S. Post Office (Beacon, New York)The U.S. Post Office in Beacon, New York is located at 369 Main Street in the Dutchess County city. It serves the ZIP Code 12508, covering the entire city of Beacon and some of the neighboring areas of the Town of Fishkill....
- U.S. Post Office (Ellenville, New York)U.S. Post Office (Ellenville, New York)The U.S. Post Office in Ellenville, New York, United States, serves the ZIP code 12428, which covers Ellenville and much of the surrounding town of Wawarsing...
- U.S. Post Office (Hyde Park, New York)U.S. Post Office (Hyde Park, New York)The U.S. Post Office in Hyde Park, New York, serves the 12538 ZIP Code. It is a stone building in the Dutch Colonial Revival architectural style, located on East Market Street just east of US 9....
- U.S. Post Office (Poughkeepsie, New York)U.S. Post Office (Poughkeepsie, New York)The main U.S. Post Office, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA, is located at the junction of Market and Mill streets downtown, . The Post Office serves the 12601 ZIP Code, which covers the city of Poughkeepsie, New York and those portions of the Town of Poughkeepsie adjacent to the city...
- U.S. Post Office (Rhinebeck, New York)U.S. Post Office (Rhinebeck, New York)The U.S. Post Office in Rhinebeck, New York serves the 12572 ZIP Code. It is located on Mill Street just south of the intersection with NY 308 at the center of the village.It is a stone Colonial Revival structure built in 1940, during the New Deal...