US Post Office-Canastota
Also known as: Canastota Post Office; See Also:South Peterboro Street Commer
Why it's listed
Canastota's post office, at 118 South Peterboro Street, is a small red brick building put up in 1940-41 under a federal public works program of the Depression era. Congress authorized it in 1931, but construction did not begin for nearly a decade. The design came from the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury under Louis A. Simon and follows a simplified Colonial Revival approach, with a gable roof, a wooden cupola, multi-pane windows and broad cast-stone surrounds. Its three-bay asymmetrical front with a side entrance sets it apart from the more common five-bay symmetrical post offices in New York State, and it resembles those in Clyde and Honeoye Falls. Inside, the lobby keeps terrazzo floors, marble wainscoting and woodwork. Above the entrance is a 1942 mural, "The Onion Fields," by Alison Mason Kingsbury, painted for the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts and showing a local farm scene. The building remains well preserved.
Significance in brief: It is an intact example of the small federal buildings erected during the Great Depression, in a simplified Colonial Revival style. Its asymmetrical three-bay design is unusual among New York post offices, which were mostly five-bay and symmetrical. It also holds a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural, "The Onion Fields," by Alison Mason Kingsbury.
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 88002467, listed November 17, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 118 S. Peterboro St., Canastota |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | November 17, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002467 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1940-1; 1942 |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; Guisseppe A. Nigro awarded the construction contract |
| Architectural style | Simplified Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good condition, well maintained and retaining a high degree of integrity inside and out; still used as a post office with a lobby, postmaster's office and workroom. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.07856, -75.75092 (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 88002467.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890920
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.