{"nrhp_refnum":"12001109","name":"La Jolla Post Office","other_names":["US Post Office, La Jolla, California","La Jolla Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1140 Wall St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.84734430000003,"lon":-117.27241902799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2013-01-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A post office building at 1040 Wall Street in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, built in 1935 to designs by Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon of the Treasury Department, with a 1960 rear addition by William Lumpkins.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A for its role in La Jolla's community development, from the 1930s through the 1960 expansion tied to the University of California San Diego campus and the expanded 92037 ZIP code. It is significant under Criterion C as a mid-1930s federal building blending Modern and Period Revival styles, and for its 1935 lobby mural by Belle Baranceanu, one of two of her San Diego murals still publicly accessible.","narrative":"Built in 1935 at the eastern end of Wall Street, the La Jolla Post Office is a poured-in-place reinforced concrete building designed by Treasury Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon. Its cubistic form, smooth walls, red tile side-gabled roof and unequal side pavilions combine Spanish Colonial, Pueblo Revival, Art Deco and WPA Moderne influences, a mix contemporaries called modified Spanish. In 1960 architect William Lumpkins added a rear section that doubled the floor space, responding to growth after the University of California opened its San Diego campus and the La Jolla ZIP code expanded. Inside, the lobby holds an oil-on-canvas landscape mural by Belle Baranceanu, painted within months of completion and drawn from sketches she made climbing Mt. Soledad. It is one of two of her San Diego murals open to the public. The building was recognized for its part in La Jolla's civic development and for its architecture and art. It remains an active post office in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":"Criterion A: 1935-1960; Criterion C: 1935","architect_builder":"Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect, Procurement Division, Department of the Treasury (1935 original construction); William Lumpkins, Artist & Architect (1960 addition)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a post office; the building is described as being in excellent condition with a high level of maintenance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.590536-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/12001109.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001109/4c14d9499c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001109/4c14d9499c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Visitor7","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_(La_Jolla,_California)-2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Visitor7</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:Post_Office_(La_Jolla,_California)-2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857766","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133456489"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/la-jolla-post-office-12001109/"}