US Post Office Nyack
The US Post Office Nyack is the branch of the United States Postal Service for the ZIP code 10960, which in addition to the Village of Nyack also includes the towns of South Nyack and Upper Nyack . The post office is located on South Broadway in the center of town and was built in 1932 in a neoclassical style. Use of this style is rare for post offices in the United States from the interwar period . Several wall paintings in the ticket hall depict scenes from local history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Building
The post office is on the northwest corner of the intersection of Broadway and Hudson Avenues. The neighborhood consists of a mixture of commercial and public buildings as well as residential buildings. Opposite him is a row of three-story brick buildings on the south side of Hudson Avenue . There is a single house to the north of the driveway.
The one-storey building made of earth-colored bricks in the Flemish Association is built on a limestone base protruding from the ground . The facing east front consists of a pavilion with five Jochen and einjöchigen side wings at both ends. Limestone was also used for the window sills and window surrounds, including the recessed areas above and below the windows. The eaves form a cornice and a parapet made of the same material. The inscription UNITED STATES POST OFFICE NYACK NEW YORK 10960 is set in shiny metal letters on the frieze of the building.
The three bays wide side wings have similarly designed limestone elements, with the exception of the cornices and the recessed surfaces. The rear section, which spans four yokes, ends at the loading ramp .
A pair of steps with neoclassical bronze railings and low stone walls as well as three-legged lampposts lead to the centrally located main entrance. This consists of a simple metal and glass door with a fighter window made of similar material. This is set back and is located between two Doric columns and a matching pediment triangle. A wooden vestibule and a small foyer lead to the counter hall with a floor made of terrazzo in a checkerboard pattern and 230 cm high wall paneling made of green-veined white marble .
With the exception of the west side, murals by Jacob Getlar Smith cover the walls. They show scenes from local history: Indians watch Henry Hudson sailing upriver on the Halve Maen ship , Dutch settlers building a log cabin and John André's meeting with Benedict Arnold . There are also two round tables made of bronze and glass for postal customers.
history
The Nyacks' first post office was established in 1835 as part of a shop on a jetty in what is now Upper Nyack. When the Erie Railroad was completed in the area in 1870, the area came within New York City's commuter reach , so those who previously came over the summer built houses over the Hudson River to live in all year round .
The United States Congress approved a permanent post office in the Village in 1910, but it was never built. It was approved again in 1926 and, after the onset of the Great Depression , construction finally began in 1931. It was opened the following year.
It was designed under the direction of James Wetmore, who was then acting chief architect of the United States Department of the Treasury . Wetmore was actually a lawyer and the architectural direction of the department at that time was determined by Louis A. Simon , who became chief architect in 1935. The choice in favor of a structure designed so strictly in the classicism style was unusual at the time. After the First World War , the Treasury Department, which was responsible for building post offices and a number of other government buildings, began to favor the newer style of the Colonial Revival , especially in small towns like Nyack. Neoclassical stylistic elements were often mixed with modern forms and used in larger cities, such as the US Post Office Troy .
Smith's murals were added in 1936. He had intended to cover all the walls with such pictures and to add a series of smaller paintings above the counter bays. If these were ever completed and installed, they have since been removed.
The interior of the building has only been changed with the addition of a modern heating system and mailboxes . Outside, a new door has replaced the original double bronze door and a ramp for wheelchair users was built to meet the requirements for accessibility .
US Senator Charles Schumer and House of Representatives Eliot Engel launched a 2004 legislative initiative that renamed the post office in honor of Waverly Brown, Edward O'Grady II and Peter Paige. The two local police officers and the guard were killed by members of the Black Liberation Army in 1981 when they robbed a Brink’s value transport vehicle in the nearby Nanuet Mall .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Larry Gobrecht: National Register of Historic Places nomination, US Post Office-Nyack ( English ) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . July 1986. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
- ↑ Ceremony to Officially Rename Nyack Post Office in Slain Officers' Honor Will Be Held May 1 ( English ) Office of Sen. Charles Schumer. April 26, 2004. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
Coordinates: 41 ° 5 ′ 19 ″ N , 73 ° 55 ′ 9 ″ W.