.gif)
U.S. Post Office (Goshen, New York)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Post Office in Goshen, New York, United States, is located on Grand Street downtown in the village of Goshen
. It serves ZIP Code
10924, roughly contiguous with the village and town
. The brick Colonial Revival
building was completed in 1936
, and added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989.
E.P. Valkenburgh's design is smaller than most Colonial Revival post office
s built during the New Deal
in the state. It also features a high degree of decoration
for a small post office in that style. The front lobby features a mural of Goshen's major landmark
, the Historic Track
, by Georgina Klitgaard, that was controversial when the post office was built.
steel frame
building that occupies most of the lot
on the north side of Grand between Canal and Main streets. It is faced in Harvard-style brick laid in common bond. The foundation
is done in molded
brick except for a stonework area near the entrance.
A three-bay front pavilion
, projected slightly, contains the entrance area, framed with engaged pilaster
s supporting a plain entablature
and denticulated pediment
with a cast iron
eagle and "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE GOSHEN NEW YORK" in bronze
letters on the tympanum
. It is flanked by two windows with cast-stone trim and cast iron lanterns. The front windows are shallow-arched, with brick surrounds, keystone
s and spring blocks.
The steeply pitched
gable
d roof is tiled in slate
and topped by an octagonal cupola
with louver
ed openings, a copper dome and weather vane
. The roofline is marked by a modillioned cornice
with side returns.
Inside, the vestibule
is finished in the original wood. It gives onto the lobby, with a terrazzo
floor. The walls have vertical-planked wooden wainscoting topped by modillions. They rise to a coved ceiling with stepped panels.
The original light fixtures has been replaced with fluorescent lights, but otherwise the customer service windows and teller bays are intact save where one of the latter has been replaced with bronze lockboxes
. Klitgaard's 5'5" by 11' (1.7 by 3.4 m) mural, "The Running of the Hambletonian Stake", depicting a harness race
at the nearby Historic Track
, is just below the ceiling on the east wall.
and Waverly's
). Valkenburgh's other New York post office, in Catskill
, another small Hudson Valley
county seat
, is distinctly different.
The building does, however, share with some other contemporary Colonial Revival post offices, such as Dobbs Ferry
and Hudson Falls
its fine detail. Those buildings, too, share steep gable roofs, ornamented ends and classically-inspired entryways.
. Over the years it was operated from several different buildings in the village. The current building was one of many authorized by Congress in a 1931 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926, when it expanded the scope of the program in response to rising unemployment at the start of the Depression
. Funds were not appropriated
until 1934.
The site chosen, across from what was then the Erie Railroad station, now the headquarters of the village police department, had been vacant since the Elmo Hotel burned down in 1920. In November 1934 it was condemned
by the Treasury Department
, the Post Office's then-parent agency. Samuel Plato was awarded the $85,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) contract and construction of the new building was completed in early 1936.
Klitgaard's mural was added the following year. Postal murals of the era were supposed to focus on local history and contemporary life, but the Treasury Department's Fine Arts Section strongly objected to her intention to paint the track, since it considered harness racing
to be an inappropriate subject for public art
, asking her to paint a local landscape instead. The community indicated its strong support of the track, and she was allowed to paint it.
There have been few modifications to the building since then, primarily in the rear portions of the interior. In 1978, a wheelchair
access ramp was built on the front.
Goshen (village), New York
Goshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
. It serves 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...
10924, roughly contiguous with the village and town
Goshen (town), New York
Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 12,913 at the 2000 census.The Town of Goshen contains a village also called Goshen, the county seat of Orange County. The town is centrally located in the county....
. The brick 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...
building was completed in 1936
1936 in architecture
The year 1936 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* Johnson Wax Headquarters designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.* Obelisk of Buenos Aires designed by Alberto Prebisch.* Florin Court, London, by Guy Morgan and Partners....
, and 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 1989.
E.P. Valkenburgh's design is smaller than most Colonial Revival 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 built during 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...
in the state. It also features a high degree of decoration
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 a small post office in that style. The front lobby features a mural of Goshen's major landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
, the Historic Track
Historic Track
The Historic Track is a half-mile harness racing track in Goshen, New York. It was opened in 1838 and has been in operation ever since, the oldest continuously operated horse racing track in North America....
, by Georgina Klitgaard, that was controversial when the post office was built.
Building
The post office is a one-and-half-story, five-by-three-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 that occupies most of the lot
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
on the north side of Grand between Canal and Main streets. It is faced in Harvard-style brick laid in common bond. The 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:...
is done in 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...
brick except for a stonework area near the entrance.
A three-bay front pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
, projected slightly, contains the entrance area, framed with engaged 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 supporting a plain entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
and denticulated 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...
with a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
eagle and "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE GOSHEN NEW YORK" in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
letters on the tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
. It is flanked by two windows with cast-stone trim and cast iron lanterns. The front windows are shallow-arched, with brick surrounds, 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 and spring blocks.
The steeply pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
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...
d roof is tiled in slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and topped by an octagonal 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 louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed openings, a copper dome 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....
. The roofline is marked by a modillioned 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...
with side returns.
Inside, the 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...
is finished in the original wood. It gives onto the lobby, with a 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...
floor. The walls have vertical-planked wooden wainscoting topped by modillions. They rise to a coved ceiling with stepped panels.
Post Office box
A post-office box or Post Office box is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station....
. Klitgaard's 5'5" by 11' (1.7 by 3.4 m) mural, "The Running of the Hambletonian Stake", depicting a harness race
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
at the nearby Historic Track
Historic Track
The Historic Track is a half-mile harness racing track in Goshen, New York. It was opened in 1838 and has been in operation ever since, the oldest continuously operated horse racing track in North America....
, is just below the ceiling on the east wall.
Aesthetics
Smaller than most other small Colonial Revival Depression-era post offices in New York, the Goshen design does not appear to have been duplicated elsewhere in New York as others were (such as Suffern'sU.S. Post Office (Suffern, New York)
The U.S. Post Office in Suffern, New York, is located on Chestnut Street between NY 59 and US 202, on the northern edge of the village's downtown business district...
and Waverly's
U.S. Post Office (Waverly, New York)
US Post Office-Waverly is a historic post office building located at Waverly in Tioga County, New York. It was designed and built in 1936-1937 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon...
). Valkenburgh's other New York post office, in Catskill
U.S. Post Office (Catskill, New York)
The U.S. Post Office in Catskill, New York was built as part of a public works program during the Great Depression. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986....
, another small 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:...
county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, is distinctly different.
The building does, however, share with some other contemporary Colonial Revival post offices, such as Dobbs Ferry
U.S. Post Office (Dobbs Ferry, New York)
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....
and Hudson Falls
U.S. Post Office (Hudson Falls, New York)
US Post Office-Hudson Falls is a historic post office building located at Hudson Falls in Washington County, New York. It was designed and built 1935-1936, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department under...
its fine detail. Those buildings, too, share steep gable roofs, ornamented ends and classically-inspired entryways.
History
Goshen's first post office was built shortly after the RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Over the years it was operated from several different buildings in the village. The current building was one of many authorized by Congress in a 1931 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926, when it expanded the scope of the program in response to rising unemployment at the start of the 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...
. Funds were not appropriated
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
until 1934.
The site chosen, across from what was then the Erie Railroad station, now the headquarters of the village police department, had been vacant since the Elmo Hotel burned down in 1920. In November 1934 it was 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...
by 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...
, the Post Office's then-parent agency. Samuel Plato was awarded the $85,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) contract and construction of the new building was completed in early 1936.
Klitgaard's mural was added the following year. Postal murals of the era were supposed to focus on local history and contemporary life, but the Treasury Department's Fine Arts Section strongly objected to her intention to paint the track, since it considered harness racing
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
to be an inappropriate subject for public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
, asking her to paint a local landscape instead. The community indicated its strong support of the track, and she was allowed to paint it.
There have been few modifications to the building since then, primarily in the rear portions of the interior. In 1978, 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...
access ramp was built on the front.