{"nrhp_refnum":"00001174","name":"San Antonio US Post Office and Courthouse","other_names":["San Antonio Federal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"615 E. Houston St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Antonio","county":"Bexar County","state":"TX","lat":29.418985878000058,"lon":-100.54799206599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-09-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story Beaux-Arts federal building at 615 E. Houston Street in San Antonio, Texas, across from the Alamo on Alamo Plaza. It was built in 1936 and dedicated in 1937 as a post office and courthouse.","why_significant":"The building is significant for its association with federal government presence and Depression-era public works in San Antonio (Criterion A), and as an excellent example of a Beaux-Arts public building (Criterion C). It also holds a 16-panel fresco mural by Howard Cook, produced through a New Deal arts program. The building retains a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Facing the Alamo on Alamo Plaza in downtown San Antonio, this six-story post office and courthouse was built in 1936 and dedicated in March 1937. Local architect Ralph Cameron designed it with Philadelphia architect Paul Cret, under the Treasury Department's Supervising Architect. Its Beaux-Arts design includes a granite base, Texas Cream limestone walls, a red tile mansard roof and six massive Ionic columns on the south front. Inside, the entry lobby has marble walls and floors and a 16-panel fresco mural by Howard Cook, completed in 1939 and depicting events in Texas history. A ceremonial courtroom keeps its wood wainscot, plaster details and built-in furniture. Built during the Depression, the project created jobs and brought all federal agencies in the city under one roof. It was reported as the first air-conditioned post office in the country. The building remains in use and keeps most of its original exterior and principal interior spaces.","period_of_significance":"1937-1950","architect_builder":"Ralph Cameron, architect; Paul Cret, consulting architect; Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect, U.S. Treasury Department; Louis Crew, government construction engineer; Floyd Schriber, construction superintendent; A.W. Kutshce, contractor; Howard Cook, artist","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux-Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a post office, courthouse and government offices; the mural was restored in 1999.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.756186-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/9713/40971300/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/00001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001174/5300ca51b1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001174/5300ca51b1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Antonio_US_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(1_of_1).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Antonio_US_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971300","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipolito_F._Garcia_Federal_Building_and_United_States_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5768172"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bexar-county/san-antonio-us-post-office-and-courthouse-00001174/"}