{"nrhp_refnum":"86001351","name":"US Post Office-Arlington Main","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10 Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.416781866000065,"lon":-71.15563262099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-06-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Arlington Main Post Office at 10 Court Street, Arlington, Massachusetts, is a brick Colonial Revival post office built in 1935-36, with an addition completed in 1965.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a reflection of 1930s Public Works Administration policies favoring standardized construction and efficient planning, including a residential side-street site. Its Georgian Revival styling was chosen for its domestic scale and for the Colonial Revival style's use as a symbol of the Federal Government. The lobby also holds a 1938 mural, \"Purchase and Use of the Soil,\" by William C. Palmer.","narrative":"Arlington's main post office, at 10 Court Street, was built in 1935 and dedicated in April 1936 to serve a rapidly growing town. Its red brick walls, limestone trim, slate hipped roof and octagonal wood cupola follow a simplified Georgian Colonial Revival design by consulting architect Maurice P. Meade. The building sits on a residential side street, a siting choice that reflected 1930s federal policy favoring efficient service over prominent display, and its domestic appearance suits the neighboring houses. A 1964-65 addition nearly doubled its size, and the lobby was altered at the same time. Inside, white marble wainscot and a terrazzo floor remain, along with a 1938 canvas mural by William C. Palmer showing scenes from old Menotomy, including the purchase of the land from Squaw Sachem. The project also provided Depression-era jobs for local workers and contractors. Reviewers considered it a modest, locally significant example of Colonial Revival design with a well-preserved lobby.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Maurice P. Meade, consulting architect; Ross & Reid Stone Setting Co., builder; 1965 addition by Lord & Den Hartog & Assoc., architects, and Fenton G. Keys, associate engineer","architectural_style":"Simplified Georgian Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, with a 1964-65 addition and lobby alterations; the mural is in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.158614-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/7956/63795644/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001351.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001351/d43555d66f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001351/d43555d66f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArlingtonMA_PostOffice.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</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:ArlingtonMA_PostOffice.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85002691","name":"Arlington Center Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/arlington-center-historic-district-boundary-increase-85002691/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795644","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Arlington,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7890906"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/us-post-office-arlington-main-86001351/"}