US Post Office-Old Chelsea Station
Also known as: Old Chelsea Station Post Office
Why it's listed
Old Chelsea Station Post Office, at 217 West 18th Street in Manhattan, is a two-story Colonial Revival building faced in Flemish-bond red brick with limestone trim. A seven-bay main block with a ground-floor arcade of round-arched openings sits between a single-bay east wing and a four-bay service wing with vehicular entrances. Inside, the lobby has marble and wooden pilasters, a largely intact screenline with wide openings for large packages, and terrazzo and marble floors. Eric Kebbon designed it in 1935 as a consulting architect for the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, and it opened in 1937. It was one of twelve new postal stations built in Manhattan in the mid-1930s as Depression-era public works to ease unemployment. The building is valued as an intact example of that program's design. It also contains two cast-stone relief panels, "Deer" and "Bear," made by Paul Fiene in 1938 for the Section of Fine Arts.
Significance in brief: It is an intact, representative example of the federal architecture built as Depression-era public works projects in the 1930s. It shows the typical features of post offices of that era, including a symmetrical facade, brick and limestone detailing, multi-paned sash and a standard floor plan. It also holds two cast-stone relief panels, "Deer" and "Bear," carved by Paul Fiene in 1938 for 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 88002365, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 217 W. 18th St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002365 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1935-7; 1938 |
| Architect / builder | Eric Kebbon, Consulting Architect |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good condition, altered, and occupied; the building retains a high degree of integrity on the exterior and interior. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.76861, -73.99838 (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 88002365.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7891168
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.