United States Post Office (Larchmont, New York) Explained

US Post Office--Larchmont
Location:Larchmont, New York
Coordinates:40.93°N -73.7514°W
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:building
Mapframe-Zoom:12
Mapframe-Caption:Interactive map showing the location for U.S. Post Office-Larchmont
Built:1937
Architect:Foster, William Dewey; US Treasury Department
Architecture:Colonial Revival
Added:May 11, 1989
Refnum:88002341

The United States Post Office building in Larchmont, New York was constructed in 1937 as part of a program started in 1853 by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department. It is in the Colonial Revival style, which was the most popular style for post offices built in New York after World War I. This post office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a Multiple Property Submission. Approximately 80 buildings within the Multiple Property Submission fit into this style.[1]

During the 1932-1942 era of post office construction, a large number of post offices and other federal buildings were built in New York. This surge was intended both to address the long-term need for new government facilities, as well as to employ out-of-work architects, engineers, artists, and other construction industry workers who were unemployed as a result of the Great Depression. The economic climate made it necessary to focus on functional design and a restraint in the amount of ornamentation used. The post office was designed by consulting architect William Dewey Foster.[1] The Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture also commissioned two realistic murals depicting Larchmont scenes from that era. The murals, painted by the accomplished New York landscape artist Thomas H. Donnelly, were unveiled in 1939 and depict the Larchmont Manor House and Larchmont Yacht Club.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=64000597}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: United States Post Offices in New York State, 1858-1943, Thematic Resources]. October 1988. 2008-10-23 .