Lincoln Park Post Office
Historic Photo, sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
National Register of Historic Places Filing
The former Lincoln Park Post Office served as the post office for the city of Lincoln Park from its completion in 1939 until 1991. Its construction was a testament to the rapid growth of Lincoln Park over a period of less than twenty years from an unincorporated rural farming area, part of Ecorse Township, to an urbanized city with numerous industrial plants, including Henry Ford's huge Rouge plant, nearby. Its dedication, on August 5, 1939, was celebrated with a parade, Pony Express ride re-enactment, speeches by several officials including the district's U.S. Congressman, and a banquet. The building stands today as a well preserved representative example of the standard-design post office buildings constructed by the federal government in the 1930s.
Physical Description
The former Lincoln Park U.S. Post Office, currently the Lincoln Park Historical Museum, is a rectangular, one-story, flat roofed building designed in a modernized classical style. It stands on level, grassy property that contains several large locust trees along the east side. The Post Office is constructed using reinforced concrete and steel and is faced in buff-colored brick. It stands on a raised basement that, faced in limestone in coursed ashlar design topped by a sillcourse, entirely surrounds the building. Limestone is also employed in a stringcourse below the parapet wall and for the parapet cap. The front or Southfield Road fayade is symmetrical, containing a center entrance and two windows on each side. The five Southfield Road fayade openings are each emphasized by two slightly instepping vertical courses of header brick outlining the opening's vertical sides. In the outer two bays the vertical brickwork insteps rise from the sillcourse on either side of the window to support the ends of a plain limestone window lintel. The outer windows rise above limestone panels. In the center three bays the openings between the instepping brickwork are broader and higher, rising to the stringcourse beneath the parapet. The broader windows in the center bay on either side of the entrance are centered vertically between limestone panels at the top and bottom. The windows have recently been replaced with new glass and aluminum sashes, but the three-over-three configuration of the original windows has been replicated.
Architect/Builder
Louis A. Simon, Henry Dattner Company
NRHP Ref# 03001551 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(4)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Lincoln Park Post Office — historic photograph from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Public Domain (Michigan Filing)
From Wikipedia
The former Lincoln Park Post Office is a building located in Lincoln Park, Michigan. It now houses the Lincoln Park Historical Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
History In the late 1930s, the city of Lincoln Park had a need for a new post office building. Congressional approval was obtained in 1938, and the land where this building stands was obtained for $15,000. The design of this building, created by supervising architect of the treasury Louis A. Simon, was used for a number of other post offices in the state of Michigan. The building was constructed by the Henry Dattner Co., who began construction in December 1938. The final cost of construction was $80,000. The Lincoln Park Post Office was dedicated on August 5, 1939, serving as a branch of the Detroit Post Office. Lincoln Park Post Office began operating as an independent post office in 1954. However, the Postal Service's Lincoln Park operations eventually outgrew the size of the building. The Post Office left the building in 1991. The Lincoln Park Historical Society purchased the building, renovated it, and opened it to the public. The building is now the home of the Lincoln Park Historical Museum.
Description The former Lincoln Park Post Office is a one-story, flat-roofed building built of concrete and steel and faced with tan brick. St sits on a raised basement faced with limestone; limestone is also used for the parapet cap and a stringcourse below. he main facade is symmetrical, with a center entrance and two windows on each side. The outer windows are atop limestone panels. The inner window openings are broader and higher, rising to the stringcourse beneath the parapet, with the windows vertically centered between limestone panels. The front entrance is reached by a flight of stairs, and stone carvings on a panel over the entryway represent three modes of mail transportation: air, rail, and ship. The simpler side elevations have six windows apiece. One side has a basement access stairs. The rear loading dock area has been renovated with vinyl siding. The interior one-and-one-half-story main floor contains a lobby, Postmater's office, and mail workroom. The public lobby measures approximately 45 feet by 13 feet, and has a terrazzo floor with marble wainscoting. The lobby originally housed a mural, Hauling in the Nets, by Zoltan Sepeshy. The mural is now located in the Marine Museum on Beaver Island. The postmaster's office measures approximately 12 feet by 14 feet, and the mail workroom approximately 40 feet by 59 feet. The basement contains three storage rooms.
See also List of United States post offices
References
External links Lincoln Park Historical Society
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Architect
- Louis A. Simon, Henry Dattner Company
- National Register
- Listed 2004
- Ref# 03001551