{"nrhp_refnum":"86001099","name":"US Post Office and Federal Building","other_names":["Federal Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"500 Austin Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Arthur","county":"Jefferson County","state":"TX","lat":29.87302997300003,"lon":-93.93540615999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story concrete and brick-masonry federal post office building at 500 Austin Avenue in downtown Port Arthur, Texas, built in 1911 and enlarged in 1935-1937. It was designed by the Treasury Department under Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an outstanding example of the Neo-Classical Revival style that dominated federal buildings of the early 1900s. It reflects Port Arthur's early prosperity as a major Gulf shipping and business center. It also served as a civil defense shelter, including during the 1915 hurricane.","narrative":"Port Arthur's former United States Post Office and Federal Building, at 500 Austin Avenue, was completed in 1911 and designed by the Treasury Department under Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor. Tom Lovell & Sons of Denton built it. Sand-colored brick and gray stone cover the main facades, where brick pilasters with Corinthian capitals frame round-arched openings, and a granite staircase leads to the Austin Avenue entrance. The marble-pilastered lobby has a cross-vaulted ceiling. A 1935 addition, finished in 1937, filled out the original U-shaped plan and matched the older detailing closely. The building housed postal, customs, immigration, weather and other federal services, reflecting Port Arthur's rank as a major Gulf seaport. It also served as a civil defense shelter; during the 1915 hurricane more than 100 residents sheltered inside. Its Neo-Classical Revival design is considered an outstanding local example of early twentieth-century federal architecture.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor; builder Tom Lovell & Sons, Denton, Texas (1935 addition: L.A. Simon, supervising architect)","architectural_style":"Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition and altered; the interior lobby retains its original features apart from a small enclosed office area.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.657749-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/9726/40972680/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/86001099.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001099/b584f136f4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001099/b584f136f4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Michael Reed","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Port_Arthur_Postal_and_Federal_building_by_MIchael_Reed_fastturtles.org.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Reed</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:Port_Arthur_Postal_and_Federal_building_by_MIchael_Reed_fastturtles.org.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972680","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001236"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/jefferson-county/us-post-office-and-federal-building-86001099/"}