US Post Office-Great Neck
Also known as: Great Neck Post Office
Why it's listed
Great Neck's post office, at the corner of Welwyn Road and Shoreward Drive in Great Neck Plaza, is a one-story steel-frame building clad in buff limestone on a granite base. It was designed and built in 1939-40 by William Dewey Foster, a consulting architect to the Treasury's Office of the Supervising Architect, as part of the public works effort of the Great Depression. Its simplified Classical Revival design features a semicircular portico carried on four square piers, a relief sculpture of an eagle and thirteen stars by Gaetano Cecere, and metal grilles with classical patterns. The triangular site produced an unusual pentagonal plan. Inside, a circular vestibule leads to a U-shaped lobby with marble wainscot, terrazzo floors, walnut woodwork, original vents, clock, light fixtures and curved counters. Porticos were rare on 1930s post offices because of cost, and few New York examples have extensive woodwork. The building retains a very high degree of integrity.
Significance in brief: It is presented as an outstanding example of Depression-era federal architecture, built in a simplified, streamlined Classical Revival style. It has an unusual curved entrance portico, a triangular-site plan and refined public interiors in walnut, marble and terrazzo. Its 1940 exterior eagle relief by Gaetano Cecere, commissioned through the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts, adds artistic importance.
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 88002526, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1 Welwyn Rd., Great Neck Plaza |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002526 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific dates 1939-40; 1940) |
| Architect / builder | William Dewey Foster, Consulting Architect |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival (austere, streamlined version) |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good, with a very high degree of exterior and interior integrity; the form marks it occupied and in government use. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.78732, -73.72253 (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 88002526.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890960
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.