{"nrhp_refnum":"86000373","name":"US Post Office","other_names":["Federal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"50 Kearny Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lowell","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.64541811200007,"lon":-71.30611136799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-03-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Neo-Classical federal building, formerly the U.S. Post Office, at 50 Kearney Square in Lowell, Massachusetts, begun in 1930 to designs by Lowell native George Augustine Daidy.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a locally significant example of Neo-Classical design by a Lowell-born architect. It also reflects federal policy of the era that public buildings be of lasting benefit and enduring character. The original fabric is intact, and the building is a focal point of the Kearney Square area.","narrative":"Standing at Kearney Square in Lowell, this three-story federal building was constructed beginning in 1930 as the city's main post office. Lowell native George Augustine Daidy designed it in the Neo-Classical style, with a granite front, terra cotta entablature and balustrade, a Doric central portico, round-arched first-floor windows with keystones, and corner quoins. It rises over three penstocks carrying water from the Concord River toward the Pawtucket Canal. The site earlier held a mansion house, rows of mill tenements, and a section of the Massachusetts Cotton Mills. The lobby keeps its marble walls, terrazzo floors, Doric columns and original light fixtures, though much of the rest of the interior has been altered for later federal offices, including a Veterans Administration clinic. The building was recognized as a locally significant example of Neo-Classical design and as an expression of federal public building policy of its time. Listing was intended to help keep it intact.","period_of_significance":"1930","architect_builder":"George Augustine Daidy (architect); Johnson and Melloy of Lowell (contractor)","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and used as a Federal Building, mainly a Veterans Administration Clinic with other federal agencies; the interior is largely altered except the lobby. The government has determined it will be disposed of in the future.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.297712-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7956/63795608/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86000373.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000373/ea865a6a91-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000373/ea865a6a91-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lowell_MA_Post_Office_Kearney_Sq.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</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:Lowell_MA_Post_Office_Kearney_Sq.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78003149","name":"Lowell National Historical Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/lowell-national-historical-park-78003149/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795608","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Bradford_Morse_Federal_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5423831"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/us-post-office-86000373/"}