{"nrhp_refnum":"91000722","name":"US Post Office, Former, and Federal Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"151--157 Genesee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Auburn","county":"Cayuga County","state":"NY","lat":42.93040594100006,"lon":-76.56969634099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-06-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Richardsonian Romanesque limestone and brick post office and federal courthouse at 151-157 Genesee Street in downtown Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, built in 1888-90 and expanded in 1913-14 and 1937.","why_significant":"It is argued to be an outstanding example of Richardsonian Romanesque public architecture and a representative example of the post office/courthouse building type. It was also the first federal building erected in Auburn and the focal point of federal postal and judicial activity there for nearly 100 years.","narrative":"Built in 1888-90 on Genesee Street in downtown Auburn, this limestone and brick building served as the city's post office and federal courthouse. Miffen E. Bell of the U.S. Treasury Department designed the main block, and additions followed in 1913-14, designed by James M. Elliot, and in 1937. Its asymmetrical form, ten-sided corner tower, conical-roofed stair tower, slate roof, terra-cotta frieze and two massive rounded-arch entrances reflect the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Inside, an original second-floor federal courtroom survives with oak woodwork and decorative plaster ceilings, along with a grand staircase and some brass postal boxes. It was Auburn's first federal building and for nearly a century the center of federal postal and judicial activity locally. The federal government surplused it in 1984, and Cayuga County now uses it for government offices, while the courtroom still hosts federal sessions in summer. Its exterior retains a high degree of integrity despite modern construction around it.","period_of_significance":"1888-1937","architect_builder":"1888-90 building: Miffen E. Bell; 1913-14 wing: James M. Elliot","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque/Queen Anne (Richardsonian Romanesque)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Surplused by the federal government in 1984 and acquired by Cayuga County; it continues as a civic building housing county agencies, and the federal courtroom is still used in summer.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:44.954417-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/91000722.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000722/105ebe58c4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000722/105ebe58c4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_and_Federal_Court_House_Auburn.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</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:Post_Office_and_Federal_Court_House_Auburn.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316741","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(Auburn,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084772"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cayuga-county/us-post-office-former-and-federal-courthouse-91000722/"}