US Post Office-Le Roy
Also known as: Le Roy Post Office
Why it's listed
Standing at the corner of Main and Mill Streets beside the Oatka Creek bridge in Le Roy, this post office was built between 1936 and 1938 as part of the federal public works effort of the Depression. It is a one-story, five-bay steel-frame building faced in coursed limestone, with carved garland and postal-themed panels, a steep slate hip roof, and a cupola holding a four-dial illuminated clock. Inside, the L-shaped lobby keeps its terrazzo floors, marble wainscoting and an unusual screenline. Most small post offices in New York from this time were plain brick Colonial Revival buildings, but this one was shaped by local insistence on quality. Village resident Ernest L. Woodward donated the site, paid for the limestone and covered roughly half the cost. He also pressed for a redesigned roofline after the finished building looked too squat. The result is the only small postal building in the state with a clock tower and limestone facing.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is an outstanding small-scale Colonial Revival federal building from the Depression-era public works programs. Its limestone facing, carved ornamentation, clock tower and graceful proportions set it apart from the standardized brick post offices of the period. Its design resulted from years of negotiation between Treasury Department architects and local citizens led by benefactor Ernest L. Woodward.
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 88002342, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2 Main St., Le Roy |
|---|---|
| County | Genesee County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002342 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1936-8 |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect (design attributed to consulting architect James B. Arnold; built by Werner Spitz Construction Company of Rochester) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The building retains a high degree of integrity on both the interior and exterior; the form lists it as occupied and government-owned. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Le Roy Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.97776, -77.98908 (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 88002342.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890991
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.