{"nrhp_refnum":"88002403","name":"US Post Office-Penn Yan","other_names":["Penn Yan Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"159 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Penn Yan","county":"Yates County","state":"NY","lat":42.66239955900005,"lon":-77.05418243699995,"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 one-and-one-half-story red brick post office at 159 Main Street in the village of Penn Yan, Yates County, New York, built in 1912-13 to designs from the Treasury Department's Supervising Architect, James Knox Taylor.","why_significant":"The building is presented as an outstanding example of Colonial Revival public architecture in New York State and an important work of Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor. It is one of thirteen Taylor-designed post offices in the thematic group. Its blend of Georgian and Federal details, high-quality materials and very high integrity are also cited.","narrative":"Penn Yan's post office at 159 Main Street is a small, symmetrical red brick building laid in Flemish bond, with a granite basement, limestone and wood trim, and a copper-clad hip roof behind a balustrade. Built in 1912-13 from designs by Treasury Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor, it replaced two residences, one of which was moved two blocks to Elm Street. Authorization came in 1908 under the Public Buildings Omnibus Act. The entrance, framed by Doric columns and a pediment, sits on the narrow side of the building, unlike Taylor's other designs, probably because the lot was narrow. Round-arched windows on the side elevations are especially fine. Inside, the L-shaped lobby keeps its terrazzo floor, plaster cornice, woodwork and bracketed wall-mounted customer counters. The building is valued as a restrained, well-preserved Colonial Revival work and as a modest symbol of the federal presence in a village long shaped by commerce, agriculture and water-powered industry. It also contributes to the Penn Yan Historic District.","period_of_significance":"1912-1913","architect_builder":"Treasury Department, Supervising Architect: James Knox Taylor; Daniel McCarthy of Philadelphia, general contractor","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival, with Georgian and Federal inspired details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied and in government use; the exterior and interior are described as retaining a high degree of integrity, with some 1930s and 1975 alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.337396-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88002403.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002403/9504328715-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002403/9504328715-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office_in_Penn_Yan,_NY_02.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</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:US_Post_Office_in_Penn_Yan,_NY_02.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85000591","name":"Penn Yan Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/penn-yan-historic-district-85000591/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315621","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Penn_Yan,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891028"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/yates-county/us-post-office-penn-yan-88002403/"}