US Post Office-Hamilton
Also known as: Hamilton Post Office
Why it's listed
Located at the edge of Hamilton's central business district, near the Colgate University campus, this one-story post office was built in 1936-37 with red brick walls, a gable roof and a symmetrical five-bay front. A boxed cornice with modillions, multi-paned fanlights in the gable ends and nine-over-nine windows give it a restrained Colonial Revival look. Congress authorized funds for a new Hamilton post office in 1931, and construction followed on a former church property after the site was bought in 1936. The design came from the office of Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon, and it was repeated almost exactly at Gowanda, New York. Inside, terrazzo floors, marble wainscoting, wood customer tables and original bulletin cases survive. Above the postmaster's door is a 1938 relief sculpture, "The Messengers," by Humbert Albrizio, depicting early regional postal history. The building is valued as a well-preserved example of standardized Depression-era federal architecture and art.
Significance in brief: It is an intact example of 1930s federal post office architecture built under Depression-era public works programs, using a standardized Colonial Revival design by Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon. It is virtually identical to the Gowanda Post Office. It also contains a well-preserved 1938 relief sculpture, "The Messengers," by Humbert Albrizio, commissioned through the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts.
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 88002522, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 32 Broad St., Hamilton |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002522 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific dates 1936-7; 1938) |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; construction contract won by Samuel Plato of Kentucky |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in good condition, and government-owned. It retains a high degree of integrity despite recent alterations, such as a modern entrance and a changed screenline. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.81660, -75.54407 (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 88002522.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890962
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.