{"nrhp_refnum":"87001772","name":"US Post Office-Provincetown Main","other_names":["Provincetown Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"217 Commercial St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Provincetown","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":42.04931112500003,"lon":-70.18843807899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-10-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Georgian Revival style brick post office at 217 Commercial Street in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the Cape Cod Bay waterfront. It was designed in 1931 and constructed in 1932.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it reflects the Federal Government's active role in stimulating the Depression-era economy while projecting stability. It also shows the high standard of the Treasury Architects in giving a small, quaint community a monumental federal building without overwhelming the neighborhood's character. It is described as unaltered and as a stabilizing element on Commercial Street.","narrative":"Built in 1932 on Commercial Street in Provincetown, this brick post office combines a two-story central core with one-story wings in the Georgian Revival manner. A three-bay arched loggia, limestone belt courses and cornices with modillions, a pedimented gable with a round window, and a small cupola mark the exterior. Inside, the lobby has gray marble wainscoting, terrazzo flooring and arched wall segments with fanlights over the service windows. Designed in 1931 under Acting Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore, it was among the first federal properties in the town apart from its lighthouses. The nomination links it to Depression-era Treasury policy, which applied distinctive facade and lobby treatment to standard plans while creating work for the construction trades. It is valued as a strong example of that program and for fitting a small resort community without overwhelming it. The building remains unaltered and serves as a stabilizing presence on Commercial Street.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"J.A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect (designer); Ratner-Stanhope Corp., Contractors","architectural_style":"Georgian (Georgian Revival)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in government use, with the building described as unaltered from its original design.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.364622-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/7939/63793948/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001772.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001772/d3d1334d5a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001772/d3d1334d5a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Peter Whitlock","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptown_post_office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter Whitlock</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptown_post_office.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"89001148","name":"Provincetown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/provincetown-historic-district-89001148/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793948","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Provincetown,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16238508"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/us-post-office-provincetown-main-87001772/"}