US Post Office-Ballston Spa
Also known as: Ballston Spa Post Office
Why it's listed
Ballston Spa's post office is a one-story, red brick building on Front Street at Milton Avenue, built in 1935-36 during the Great Depression. Authorized by Congress in 1931, it was one of many federal post offices in New York State designed under Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the Treasury. The steel-frame building has a flat roof, brick parapets with stone coping, eight-over-eight wood windows and a central arched entrance with a radiating fanlight. Its restrained Colonial Revival design reduces classical details to basic forms, and the post office in Ilion, built the same year, nearly duplicates it. The interior is utilitarian, with a modest lobby, a postmaster's office and a large workroom, and it keeps some ceramic tile, plaster and wood detail. The building matters as a well-preserved example of standardized federal design from the 1930s public works era. Construction was funded under an $85,000 appropriation limit and finished in 1936.
Significance in brief: The building is presented as an intact, representative example of federal architecture built through Depression-era public works programs. It is an extremely simplified version of the Colonial Revival style. Its design was nearly duplicated at the Ilion Post Office, and it reflects the Treasury Department's standardization of post office designs.
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 88002468, listed November 17, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1 Front St., Ballston Spa |
|---|---|
| County | Saratoga County |
| Listed | November 17, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002468 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1935-6 |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; B. Z. Contracting Company of New York City (construction contract) |
| Architectural style | Extremely simplified Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Marked as occupied government use; described as well maintained, with a high degree of exterior integrity. The original doors have been replaced and the interior has some alterations. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.00231, -73.84913 (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 88002468.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890908
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.