{"nrhp_refnum":"12000265","name":"Martinez Downtown Post Office (Additional Documentation)","other_names":["Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"815 Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Martinez","county":"Contra Costa County","state":"CA","lat":38.02008375500003,"lon":-122.13411129099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story reinforced concrete post office with a full basement and mezzanine at 815 Court Street, Martinez, California, built in 1937 to designs from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Supervising Architect.","why_significant":"The building is a local example of Art Deco/PWA Moderne civic architecture and the only extant building, and one of few Depression-era government relief projects, in Martinez and Contra Costa County. It holds the mural \"The Road to El Dorado\" by Maynard Dixon and Edith Hamlin, commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The state office concurred in significance under Criterion A for Politics/Government and Criterion C for Architecture and Art.","narrative":"Completed in 1937 at 815 Court Street, Martinez's downtown post office is a symmetrical, single-story reinforced concrete building with a full basement and mezzanine. The Treasury Department's Office of the Supervising Architect designed it in an Art Deco/PWA Moderne manner, with a smooth white facade, a central entrance beneath a bronze eagle, low-relief floral ornament and a dark green angular roof behind a false cornice. It sits in the city and county civic district near other Art Deco buildings. It is the only extant building, and one of few Depression-era relief projects, in Martinez and Contra Costa County. Inside, the lobby has birch paneling, terracotta tile and a 15 by 18 foot mural, \"The Road to El Dorado,\" painted by Maynard Dixon and Edith Hamlin and installed in 1939. Alterations include a 1994 wheelchair ramp, replaced entrance doors and boarded rear windows where the Sheriff's department now works. The building keeps most of its original integrity.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"U.S. Treasury Department, Office of the Supervising Architect, Procurement Division, Public Buildings Branch","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco/Public Works Administration (PWA) Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still a post office, with a Contra Costa Sheriff department occupying the back of the building and the City of Martinez renting basement storage. Described as structurally sound and in good condition, needing maintenance investment.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.713871-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/12000265.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000265/ca2927072d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000265/ca2927072d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office,_815_Court_St.,_Martinez,_CA_9-14-2008_4-28-28_PM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office,_815_Court_St.,_Martinez,_CA_9-14-2008_4-28-28_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857368","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133260171"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/contra-costa-county/martinez-downtown-post-office-additional-documentation-12000265/"}