US Post Office-Garden City
Also known as: Garden City Post Office
Why it's listed
Garden City's post office is a one-story brick building on Franklin Avenue, the village's main commercial street. Authorized in 1931 and built in 1936, it was designed by the New York City firm Walker and Gillette with associate Perry Duncan, as part of Depression-era public building programs meant to ease unemployment. Its design is restrained and symmetrical, with recessed central bays, a granite entrance frame, a cast metal eagle above the doors, multi-paned windows and almost no cornice. Inside, the lobby has gray marble wainscoting, black and white terrazzo floors, plaster walls and a Greek fret cornice. A 1937 mural by J. Theodore Johnson, titled Huckleberry Frolic, depicts a local harvest festival scene. It was commissioned through the Treasury Department's art program. The building is valued as a refined example of 1930s post office design and for its well-preserved interior and artwork.
Significance in brief: It is a sophisticated example of restrained Neoclassical public architecture and one of a small number of New York post offices designed by private architects for the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. It was built during the Depression-era public buildings program. Its lobby also holds a well-preserved 1937 mural by J. Theodore Johnson, commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture.
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 88002521, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 600 Franklin St., Garden City |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002521 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1936; 1937 |
| Architect / builder | Walker and Gillette with Perry Duncan, Associate |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical/Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied government building; the form reports good condition, with high integrity inside and out, modern lighting and a partly altered screenline. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.72469, -73.63410 (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 88002521.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890956
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.