{"nrhp_refnum":"83001908","name":"U. S. Post Office and Federal Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 S. Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockingham","county":"Richmond County","state":"NC","lat":34.93625724900005,"lon":-79.77283719799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former U.S. Post Office and Federal Building at 125 S. Hancock Street, Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina, built in 1935 and designed in the Art Deco style by Louis B. Simon of the U.S. Treasury's Public Works Branch.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an exceptionally fine example of commercial Art Deco architecture that stands out among older red brick neighbors in downtown Rockingham. It is also tied to the history of the Rockingham Post Office, established in 1829, and its lobby holds a 1937 WPA mural by Edward Lanning.","narrative":"Built in 1935 at the corner of S. Hancock and E. Franklin streets in downtown Rockingham, this two-story yellow brick building with a shorter mezzanine third story served as the town post office and a federal courthouse. Louis B. Simon of the Treasury Department's Public Works Branch designed it, and it went up in a record seven months at a cost of over $225,000. Terracotta trim with stylized floral and geometric motifs, metal window frames, grillwork and distinctive light fixtures express the Art Deco style, and the building contrasts with the older red brick structures around it. Inside, the lobby holds a 1937 WPA mural by Edward Lanning titled Human Aspects of the Postal Service. The site earlier held a livery stable and a makeshift stucco post office. The post office moved out in 1977, and Richmond County bought the building and converted it to offices, keeping much of the original interior, including the judge's bench in the former courtroom.","period_of_significance":"1900-1935","architect_builder":"Louis B. Simon, Architect; A. Farnell Blaire, Contractor; Edward Lanning, Artist (Mural)","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Purchased by Richmond County in 1977 and converted to county office space between 1977 and 1979; the former courtroom serves as the county commissioners chambers. Much of the interior decorative scheme remains intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:48.995974-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/7183/47718351/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001908.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001908/139f28d08d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001908/139f28d08d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mauser1488","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Post_Office_%26_Federal.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Mauser1488</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:U.S._Post_Office_%26_Federal.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718351","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_and_Federal_Building_(Rockingham,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19817718"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/richmond-county/u-s-post-office-and-federal-building-83001908/"}