US Post Office-Great Barrington Main
Also known as: Great Barrington Main Post Office
Why it's listed
Great Barrington's main post office is a one-story red brick building on Main Street, designed in 1935 and completed in 1936. Its walls are laid in Flemish bond with marble lintels, and a white tetrastyle Tuscan portico marks the recessed entrance. Inside, the lobby keeps white marble wainscoting, a dark terrazzo floor and original painted woodwork around the post office boxes. A rear loading canopy was added in 1960. Lorimer Rich, a private architect, adapted a standard federal floor plan at a time when most designs came from the Supervising Architect's office, and D. A. Sullivan & Sons built it. The building is cited as a unique example of a Class C federal building, with brick facing, stone trim and simple ornament. It was the eighth home of the town's post office and the first built for that purpose, replacing earlier quarters in stores, houses and the registry of deeds. Its temple-front facade fits the town's Colonial and Classical Revival architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as a unique example of the Class C construction category in the federal building classification system. It was designed by private architect Lorimer Rich from a standard floor plan, with an unusual Tuscan portico that suits the town's Colonial and Classical Revival buildings. It was also the eighth and first purpose-built home of the town's post office, ending its scattered locations. The reviewer called it a locally significant example of late institutional eclecticism in the Colonial Revival mode.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86000163, listed January 10, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 222 Main St., Great Barrington |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | January 10, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000163 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Sup. Architect; Lorimer Rich, Architect; D.A. Sullivan & Sons, Contractor, Northampton, Massachusetts |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival (late institutional eclecticism) with a Tuscan temple-front portico |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, in government use; altered by a 1960 rear loading canopy and a new standing seam metal roof. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.20018, -73.35956 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86000163.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7891140
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.