{"nrhp_refnum":"78000737","name":"Federal Post Office","other_names":["Riverside Municpal Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3720 Orange St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Riverside","county":"Riverside County","state":"CA","lat":33.98194312100003,"lon":-117.37242855299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A neo-classical post office building with Mission Revival detailing at 3720 Orange Street (corner of 7th and Orange) in Riverside, California, constructed in 1912 and now used as the Riverside Municipal Museum.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as a successful blend of turn-of-the-century neo-classical design with strong Mission Revival detailing, complementing nearby downtown landmarks such as the Mission Inn. It is also tied to the founding of the Riverside Municipal Museum and the Rumsey collection. Local evaluation is given as the level of significance.","narrative":"Built in 1912 at the corner of 7th and Orange Streets in Riverside, this federal post office combines a simple neo-classical form with Mission Revival ornament. James K. Taylor, a draughtsman in the U.S. Architects Office, designed it, and the Southwestern Construction Company of Los Angeles built it for roughly 100,000 dollars. Vermont marble, California granite and marble, local cement and redwood woodwork were used. Distinctive features include a seven-arch arcade, semicircular false fronts recalling the Carmel mission, and a tiled roof. The building served as a post office from 1912 to 1938, housed the 4th Air Force headquarters during World War II, and was sold to the city in 1945. The police department and the museum shared it from the late 1940s until 1965, when the museum took the whole building. It displays the Rumsey collection of Indian artifacts and was designated a local landmark for complementing nearby Mission Revival buildings.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architect: James K. Taylor; Builder: Southwestern Construction Company","architectural_style":"Neo-classical with Mission Revival influence","criteria":[],"status_note":"Currently in use as the Riverside Municipal Museum; interior extensively remodeled for museum use, with a small rear addition and some replaced doors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.819053-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000737.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000737/81a956f944-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000737/81a956f944-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Steve Rouhotas","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Federal_post_office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Steve Rouhotas</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:Federal_post_office.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860462","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133439387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/riverside-county/federal-post-office-78000737/"}