{"nrhp_refnum":"73001441","name":"U.S. Post Office and Courthouse","other_names":["Old, Old Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"121 E. State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.96030817900004,"lon":-82.99464883999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Old Post Office and Courthouse at 121 East State Street in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, is a government building first built in 1884-1887 and extensively enlarged and remodeled in 1907-1912. It is federally owned.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building was Columbus's main post office and was saved from demolition by the growth of the mail business. A $650,000 remodeling replaced its Romanesque facade with a Gothic one and expanded it by two-thirds. The alterations were made early in its life and tastefully, so it remains a significant structure.","narrative":"Built as Columbus's main post office between 1884 and 1887, this building at 121 East State Street was first designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque manner and was about one-third its present size. Within twenty years the public called it an eyesore and urged its demolition. Mail volume had risen 500%, though, and the Post Office Department chose to invest $650,000 in remodeling instead. Between 1907 and 1912 the Romanesque facade was replaced with a Gothic one, and the southern two-thirds of the building was added. The result is a rock-faced stone structure with pointed entrance arches, stepped gables, balustrades and a red tile roof. President William Howard Taft, a native of Ohio, came to dedicate it in 1912. The nomination judges the extensive early alterations tasteful enough that the building remains significant. It was described as well maintained and in excellent structural condition, and later served as a postal sub-station.","period_of_significance":"19th and 20th centuries; built 1884-1887, remodeled 1907-1912","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic-appearance facade (1907-1912) over an original Richardsonian Romanesque building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent structural condition and well maintained; in use as a postal sub-station at the time of nomination. A 1978 letter notes a possible transfer to the City of Columbus.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.199878-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001441.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001441/f89452cc43-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001441/f89452cc43-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ɱ","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Courthouse-PO,_Columbus_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ɱ</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:US_Courthouse-PO,_Columbus_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988336","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(Columbus,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7863296"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/u-s-post-office-and-courthouse-73001441/"}