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U.S. Post Office (Dobbs Ferry, New York)
Encyclopedia
The United States Post Office in Dobbs Ferry, New York serves the ZIP Code
10522, which covers the village of Dobbs Ferry
. It is a brick
Colonial Revival
structure located at the corner of Main and Oak streets, in the downtown section.
It was built in 1936, as part of a massive postal construction effort. Its architecture features a high level of detail and ornament
for the Colonial Revival style. Only two other post office
s in New York in that style share the same level of detail. For this reason it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1988.
steel frame
building occupying the corner lot. The ground slopes slightly from the rear to the west-facing front facade (the Hudson River
is a short distance in that direction). Thus it was built on a raised foundation
. From the rear a three-bay wing projects, giving access to the parking lot
.
The foundation and exteriors are faced with red brick laid in common bond. The front section, one bay deep, has a roof done in copper
with parapet
ed gable
s on the end walls. The remainder of the roof is flat. Cast-stone coping
outlines the entire roof, and the front has a boxed wood cornice
. Bronze lettering above the entrance identifies it as the Dobbs Ferry post office.
The entrance centers the entire main facade. It is arch
ed, with flanking wooden pilaster
s topped with dosserets and a denticulated (toothed) broken-bed pediment
. The windows feature splayed brick lintels and capping keystone
s. Two iron lantern-style lamps frame the door.
Inside, the lobby
takes an L-shaped form through four of the five bays. It features orange quarry tile and a counter-height dado
. The plaster ceiling is coved, and the original wood frames on the bulletin board
s and windows, as well as iron grille
s on the screenline, remain.
, began to standardize its local branches across the country. This trend reached Dobbs Ferry when it became one of 136 new post offices authorized for New York State under an amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1931.
Congress
did not get around to appropriating the money for a new Dobbs Ferry post office until 1934. In November of that year the current property was acquired for $11,700, and an existing store and residence condemned
to make way for the new building. Congress then made $95,000 available for construction, and the Summit Brothers firm began work the next year. The new post office opened for business in 1936.
The design, by Treasury supervising architect Louis Simon, used a Colonial Revival style, common for many post offices in and out of New York from 1905 onward. Most of these were simple, somewhat spartan structures, and the level of ornamentation at Dobbs Ferry is a departure from the norm. In New York, only the Granville and Hudson Falls
post offices share the parapeted gables and window keystones.
It has remained largely intact since its construction. Modern aluminum doors have been installed at the entrance, as well as modern lighting inside. The most significant alteration was the replacement of the original double staircase to the front entrance with a wheelchair
-accessible
ramp
, mandated in federal buildings by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
.
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...
10522, which covers the village of Dobbs Ferry
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh...
. It is a brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
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...
structure located at the corner of Main and Oak streets, in the downtown section.
It was built in 1936, as part of a massive postal construction effort. Its architecture features a high level of detail and ornament
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...
for the Colonial Revival style. Only two other 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...
s in New York in that style share the same level of detail. For this reason it was added to 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 1988.
Building
The post office is a one-story, five-by-five-bayBay (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:...
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...
building occupying the corner lot. The ground slopes slightly from the rear to the west-facing front facade (the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
is a short distance in that direction). Thus it was built on a raised 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:...
. From the rear a three-bay wing projects, giving access to the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
.
The foundation and exteriors are faced with red brick laid in common bond. The front section, one bay deep, has a roof done in copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
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...
ed gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s on the end walls. The remainder of the roof is flat. Cast-stone 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....
outlines the entire roof, and the front has a boxed wood 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...
. Bronze lettering above the entrance identifies it as the Dobbs Ferry post office.
The entrance centers the entire main facade. It is arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
ed, with flanking wooden pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s topped with dosserets and a denticulated (toothed) broken-bed pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The windows feature splayed brick lintels and capping keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s. Two iron lantern-style lamps frame the door.
Inside, the lobby
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....
takes an L-shaped form through four of the five bays. It features orange quarry tile and a counter-height dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
. The plaster ceiling is coved, and the original wood frames on the bulletin board
Bulletin board
A bulletin board is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise things to buy or sell, announce events, or provide information...
s and windows, as well as iron grille
Grille
A grille or grill is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including people and animals in or out.-Spelling:In the United States, "grille" is used to differentiate the automotive...
s on the screenline, remain.
History
Dobbs Ferry had had a post office under its earlier names of Wickquaequeeck and Greenburgh prior to its incorporation in 1872 and change to its current name a decade later. In 1915 the U.S. Post Office, then under the auspices of the Treasury DepartmentUnited 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...
, began to standardize its local branches across the country. This trend reached Dobbs Ferry when it became one of 136 new post offices authorized for New York State under an amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1931.
Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
did not get around to appropriating the money for a new Dobbs Ferry post office until 1934. In November of that year the current property was acquired for $11,700, and an existing store and residence condemned
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
to make way for the new building. Congress then made $95,000 available for construction, and the Summit Brothers firm began work the next year. The new post office opened for business in 1936.
The design, by Treasury supervising architect Louis Simon, used a Colonial Revival style, common for many post offices in and out of New York from 1905 onward. Most of these were simple, somewhat spartan structures, and the level of ornamentation at Dobbs Ferry is a departure from the norm. In New York, only the Granville and Hudson Falls
Hudson Falls, New York
Hudson Falls is a village located in Washington County, New York, USA. The village is in the southwest part of the town of Kingsbury, on US Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 6,927...
post offices share the parapeted gables and window keystones.
It has remained largely intact since its construction. Modern aluminum doors have been installed at the entrance, as well as modern lighting inside. The most significant alteration was the replacement of the original double staircase to the front entrance with a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
-accessible
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
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....
, mandated in federal buildings by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
.