{"nrhp_refnum":"86000122","name":"US Post Office-Holyoke Main","other_names":["Holyoke Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"650 Dwight St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Holyoke","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.208172094000076,"lon":-72.61000761899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-01-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A limestone Art Deco post office at 650 Dwight Street on the northern edge of downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts, designed in 1933 and completed in 1934. It has a two-story central section with one-story wings.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as a significant example of Art Deco architecture, styled after the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Its design relies on proportion, stone jointing and shallow reveals instead of cornices, columns and heavy ornament. The form also notes local public interest in its construction, including opposition to a brick rear wall and debate over the site.","narrative":"Holyoke's main post office at 650 Dwight Street is a limestone building designed in 1933, begun that November and completed in 1934. Considered modernistic in its day, it has a two-story central block flanked by one-story wings, pink granite steps and foundation, bronze-framed entrances and carved eagle panels above the doors. Its zigzag cap and shallow stepped window recesses give the exterior a restrained Art Deco character modeled on the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. Inside, a terrazzo floor, marble wainscot and a 1936 mural by Ross Moffett showing a landing by early settlers survive. The building drew public attention during planning: residents objected when architects proposed a brick rear wall to save $4,000, and a low bid ensured limestone on all four sides. About twenty sites were weighed before the Dwight Street location won approval. Windows have been replaced and skylights covered, but the building remains in good condition and in postal use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George P.B. Alderman & Co. of Holyoke and Thomas M. James & Co. of Boston (architects); Tremaglio Brothers, Builders","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition with minimal alterations; still in use as the main post office, though the second floor is virtually unused.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.334052-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/7951/63795179/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86000122.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000122/b1b7a7780a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000122/b1b7a7780a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Joe Mabel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holyoke,_MA_-_central_post_office_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe Mabel</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:Holyoke,_MA_-_central_post_office_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795179","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Holyoke_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891142"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/us-post-office-holyoke-main-86000122/"}