{"nrhp_refnum":"90002168","name":"US Post Office-Christiansburg","other_names":["DHR File No. 154-27"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW corner of public square","address_restricted":false,"city":"Christiansburg","county":"Montgomery County","state":"VA","lat":37.13027729500004,"lon":-80.40907206899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick Colonial Revival post office built in 1936 on the northwest side of the public square in Christiansburg, Montgomery County, Virginia.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under criterion C as a well-preserved example of the high architectural standards used for postal buildings in the second quarter of the twentieth century. It also illustrates the use of art as architectural ornament encouraged during the Depression, through a 1938 W.P.A. mural by Paul DeTroot. Alterations are minor and kept mostly to the rear.","narrative":"Built in 1936 on the public square in Christiansburg, Virginia, this one-story brick post office is domestic in scale and richly detailed in the Colonial Revival manner. It has twelve-over-twelve sash windows, a denticulated cornice, a standing-seam metal gabled roof with a small cupola, and a central arched entry framed by fluted Doric columns. Inside, a tiled lobby, dark woodwork and a paneled vestibule lead to a 1938 W.P.A. mural by Paul DeTroot showing local scenes from the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars. Louis A. Simon, chief architect for the U.S. Postal Service, designed the building, and it closely resembles his post office in nearby Radford. It was listed for its architectural quality and as an example of Depression-era art used as building ornament. Later changes are minor and mostly at the rear, and the building remains the most architecturally sophisticated structure on the square.","period_of_significance":"1936-1938","architect_builder":"Louis A. Simon, architect; Paul DeTroot, artist","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th century revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a post office; described as well preserved, with a mid-twentieth-century rear addition and replacement aluminum entry doors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.123707-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/6788/41678836/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/90002168.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90002168/8883801159-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90002168/8883801159-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office_in_Christiansburg_at_twilight.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</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_Christiansburg_at_twilight.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"13000340","name":"Christiansburg Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/christiansburg-downtown-historic-district-13000340/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678836","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Christiansburg,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713412"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/montgomery-county/us-post-office-christiansburg-90002168/"}