{"nrhp_refnum":"77001197","name":"U.S. Post Office","other_names":["U.S. Federal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"270 Seneca St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oil City","county":"Venango County","state":"PA","lat":41.43587637300004,"lon":-79.70902407999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former U.S. Post Office, now called the Federal Building, in Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1906 under the direction of James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a formal example of Beaux-Arts Classicism whose ornamentation and sculptural texture make it exceptional for its modest scale and original use. It served as Oil City's main post office for almost sixty years and is described as the unique example of its style in the city and region. It is also presented as a dignified statement of the federal government's presence in a city that grew after the oil boom.","narrative":"Completed in 1906 to a design by James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, this limestone-faced building in Oil City, Pennsylvania, was built as the city's main post office. It has two storeys above a full basement, a central three-bay pavilion with round arched openings and Tuscan columns, and a parapet of alternating piers and balustrades. Its entablature mixes Ionic, blank and Roman Doric elements rather than following a single order. Additions of 1912 and 1928 extended the rear of the building for additional work space. The building is considered an example of Beaux Arts Classicism, with richly worked ornament and sculptural texture on a modest scale. Its main post office role lasted almost sixty years, and it was built in response to the commercial growth that followed the nineteenth-century oil boom. The nomination presents it as a dignified statement of federal presence in a region with few buildings of comparable architectural distinction.","period_of_significance":"1906","architect_builder":"James Knox Taylor","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered: an original revolving entrance door was replaced and interior renovations altered the original plan; the building is described as in good condition in the condition section.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.929859-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001197.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001197/523d1036ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001197/523d1036ae-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Oil_City_post_office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Oil_City_post_office.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97001250","name":"Oil City Downtown Commercial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/oil-city-downtown-commercial-historic-district-97001250/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996843","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Oil_City,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16902324"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/venango-county/u-s-post-office-77001197/"}