US Post Office-Canal Street Station
Also known as: Canal Street Station
Why it's listed
Canal Street Station is a two-story post office at 350 Canal Street, on the corner of Church Street in lower Manhattan. Built between 1937 and 1939, it was one of fourteen postal facilities erected in Manhattan in the 1930s as part of federal Depression-era works projects. Alan Balch Mills designed it in the Art Moderne style, a striking contrast to the Colonial Revival buildings that dominated New York post office design at the time. Buff terra-cotta panels cover the exterior, with a black terra-cotta base, steel-sash windows set in angled bays, and almost no applied ornament. The entrance sits within a chamfered corner, giving the building a distinctive presence on a busy intersection. Inside, the lobby has banded terra-cotta walls, terrazzo floors and an original screenline. A relief panel titled Indian Bowman, carved by Wheeler Williams in 1938, was commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. The building keeps a high degree of integrity inside and out.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an outstanding and unusual example of public architecture in New York State, one of the few Art Moderne post offices built there at a time when Colonial-inspired designs dominated. Its terra-cotta cladding, chamfered corner entrance and lack of applied ornament set it apart. It also contains a relief sculpture by Wheeler Williams commissioned by 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 88002358, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 350 Canal St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002358 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1937-9 |
| Architect / builder | Alan Balch Mills |
| Architectural style | Art Moderne |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is listed as good, and the building retains a very high degree of integrity on both the exterior and interior. It is described as occupied and in use as a post office. |
| Acreage | 1.9 |
| Within district | Greenwich Village Historic District (Additional Documentation) |
| Coordinates | 40.73838, -74.00357 (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 88002358.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7891143
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.