U.S. General Post Office
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Why it's listed
Occupying the equivalent of two city blocks on Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan, this four-story post office was built between 1910 and 1913. Its steel frame is clad in smooth granite ashlar. A long Corinthian colonnade forms a loggia twenty-two feet above the street, reached by thirty-one steps. The columns once matched the main facade of the old Penn Station. The frieze carries the well-known quotation from Herodotus about couriers and their appointed rounds. McKim, Mead & White won the design commission in competition and also designed Penn Station, demolished in 1964, which was the building's companion piece. The scale, the sweeping colonnade and the pairing with another immense structure place it within the classical City Beautiful movement. The building is freestanding and was meant to be seen from all sides, with the colonnade theme repeated as pilasters on the other elevations. It remains in use as a post office and is described as in excellent, unaltered condition.
Significance in brief: The design was won in competition by McKim, Mead & White, the firm that also designed the demolished Penn Station, which was its companion piece. Its monumental size and long colonnade make it an example of the classical "City Beautiful" movement. It is freestanding and designed to be seen from all sides, and it remains well suited to its original postal purpose.
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 73002257, listed January 29, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 8th Ave. between 31st and 33rd Sts., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | January 29, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73002257 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 20th Century; begun 1910, completed 1913 |
| Architect / builder | McKim, Mead & White |
| Architectural style | Classical "City Beautiful" style with Corinthian colonnade |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a post office; condition listed as excellent, unaltered, and on its original site. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.76046, -73.98381 (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 73002257.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2466300
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.