US Post Office-Newburgh
Also known as: Newburgh Post Office
Why it's listed
Built in 1931-32 at 215-217 Liberty Street, Newburgh's post office is a two-and-one-half-story, nine-bay brick building with a large rear wing. Red Flemish-bond brick is trimmed in white marble, with brick quoins, a modillioned cornice, carved swags, round-arched first-story openings and a high gambrel roof topped by a domed cupola. Congress authorized the project in 1928, the site was bought in 1929, and A. M. Lundberg of St. Louis won the construction contract in 1931. The design was produced in the Treasury's Supervising Architect's office during James A. Wetmore's tenure, and is attributed to Louis A. Simon. It replaced an 1898 Romanesque post office that proved inadequate. The building matters as one of the largest and most elaborate Colonial Revival post offices in New York State, at a time when most federal buildings of the era were small, plain or classical in style. The gambrel roof may nod to Hudson Valley tradition. Original terrazzo floors and marble wall linings survive in the lobby.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is an outstanding and exuberant example of a Colonial Revival public building in New York State. It is one of the few large cities to receive a monumental post office between 1915 and 1933, when Treasury policy favored restraint. Its individually designed form, marble ornament, domed cupola and gambrel roof set it apart from the plainer, standardized post offices of the period.
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 88002367, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 215--217 Liberty St., Newburgh |
|---|---|
| County | Orange County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002367 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1931-2 |
| Architect / builder | James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect (design attributed to Louis A. Simon); contractor A. M. Lundberg of St. Louis |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival (with Neo-Georgian elements) |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good and altered; the building remains a post office, with aluminum replacement windows from the late 1970s and an altered lobby screenline. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.50322, -74.01087 (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 88002367.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7891008
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.