{"nrhp_refnum":"85000136","name":"US Post Office-Downtown Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"390 W. 5th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Bernardino","county":"San Bernardino County","state":"CA","lat":34.108694736000075,"lon":-117.29155549199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-01-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story reinforced concrete post office at 390 West Fifth Street, San Bernardino, California, completed in 1931 on a site acquired in 1913 and 1929. It was designed by OSA/James A. Wetmore and Louis A. Simon.","why_significant":"The building is a good example of the 1930s federal building program, which grew out of an acceleration of the Keyes-Elliot Act of 1926. It is a locally important example of early twentieth century architecture in a city with few surviving buildings from before 1950. It keeps substantial integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Completed in 1931 at 390 West Fifth Street, San Bernardino's downtown post office is a two-story reinforced concrete building with a full basement and a red tile roof. Its design mixes Mediterranean and Renaissance Revival ornament on a classical, symmetrical form with Beaux-Arts roots. Cast terracotta detail, some glazed bright blue and green, decorates the front arcade, which also has acanthus leaf capitals. Other features include a seven-bayed groin-vaulted vestibule and a second-floor balcony with a wrought iron railing. Inside, the lobby has marble wainscoting and the workroom keeps its hardwood floor. The site earlier held four wood frame houses. The building represents the federal construction program of the 1930s and sits between small combined federal buildings and the large post office courthouses of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Because few buildings from before 1950 survive in San Bernardino, it carries added local importance. Exterior changes are limited to replaced doors, while the lobby fittings were modernized.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"OSA/James A. Wetmore, Louis A. Simon","architectural_style":"Italianate Beaux-Arts inspired; blend of Mediterranean and Renaissance Revival motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied, in excellent structural condition and well maintained; the lobby has been extensively remodeled and the original wooden doors replaced.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.533004-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85000136.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000136/50b6bd3d3b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000136/50b6bd3d3b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Bernardino_Main_Post_Office_3.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</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:San_Bernardino_Main_Post_Office_3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857747","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bernardino_Downtown_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19867221"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-bernardino-county/us-post-office-downtown-station-85000136/"}