{"nrhp_refnum":"85003336","name":"US Post Office-Palmer Main","other_names":["Palmer Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Park and Central Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palmer","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.15784319200003,"lon":-72.32698700999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, steel-frame Neo-Classical post office at Park and Central Streets in Palmer, Massachusetts, designed in 1931 and completed in May 1932, faced in buff brick with limestone trim.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine example of Neo-Classical design and a product of the U.S. Treasury Department's Architectural Division. It reflects the Depression-era effort by the federal government to reach local communities, with grand proportions and quality workmanship. The reviewer described it as a local institutional example of twentieth-century academic eclecticism in the Classical Revival mode.","narrative":"Palmer's main post office is a two-story, steel-frame building of buff brick and limestone at the corner of Park and Central Streets. Designed in 1931 under Louis A. Simon and James A. Wetmore of the Treasury Department's Architectural Division, it was built between November 1931 and May 1932 at a cost of $75,945. A recessed portico with eight Ionic limestone columns, reached by granite steps, carries a limestone and brick frieze, cornice and balustrade around the building. Original cast copper art deco lampposts flank the stairs. Inside, the lobby keeps white marble wainscoting, a gray marble base, terrazzo floors, natural-finish wood trim and original brasswork. The building sits in a residential neighborhood rather than downtown, a placement the nomination calls a paradox. It was valued as a fine Neo-Classical design from the Depression era, when the federal government sought to reach local communities. The first contractor, Cianci Construction Company, reportedly went bankrupt, and W. A. Newton Company finished the work.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"L.A. Simon, Superintendent, Architectural Division; James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect; Cianci Construction Co. and W. A. Newton & Company, contractors","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical (Classical Revival)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent original condition, with minor repointing needed on the limestone cap and balustrade; the only exterior alteration is a small canopy over the rear loading bay.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.097417-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/7951/63795183/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003336.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003336/4610730a1f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003336/4610730a1f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office,_Palmer_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office,_Palmer_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795183","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Palmer_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891169"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/us-post-office-palmer-main-85003336/"}