{"nrhp_refnum":"88002388","name":"US Post Office-Olean","other_names":["Olean Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"102 S. Union St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Olean","county":"Cattaraugus County","state":"NY","lat":42.07709441900005,"lon":-78.43031798799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-05-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story masonry and steel-frame post office at 102 South Union Street, Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York, built 1910-12 under Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor. It sits at the corner of West State and South Union Streets in the central business district.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as a distinguished example of early twentieth-century public architecture in New York State. It is a late and unusual work by Taylor, mixing Italian Renaissance and Craftsman motifs, with a carved wood cornice and decorative brick frieze unique among his New York post offices. Its styling also complements the adjacent 1909 Olean Public Library.","narrative":"Olean's post office, at South Union and West State Streets, was built between 1910 and 1912 to designs overseen by James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the Treasury. The two-story building has a tan pressed-brick exterior over a granite foundation, with five round-arched openings across the front, limestone trim and a hip roof. Its frieze of colored trim and diagonal brick with diamond panels sits beneath a carved wooden bracketed cornice with exposed rafters. That wood cornice is unique among Taylor's New York post offices, which mostly follow Classical models with stone or terra-cotta cornices. The Renaissance-inspired detailing also echoes the neighboring 1909 public library. Inside, the lobby keeps its high ceiling, modillioned cornice, oak woodwork, paneled wainscoting and cast-iron stairs. The federal government bought the site in 1909, and the project cost $79,540. A 1950s rear addition is the main later change to the building.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect; F. H. Rogers, superintendent of construction; William Werner, contractor","architectural_style":"Eclectic, combining Italian Renaissance and Craftsman motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in use as a post office; the form says upstairs spaces are unused. A 1950s rear addition is non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:44.858895-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88002388.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002388/f8c5f51e67-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002388/f8c5f51e67-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office-Olean_NY_Apr_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office-Olean_NY_Apr_10.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312166","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Olean,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891016"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cattaraugus-county/us-post-office-olean-88002388/"}