US Post Office-Bay Shore
Also known as: Bay Shore Post Office
Why it's listed
Located half a block north of Main Street in Bay Shore, on Long Island's south shore, this brick post office was designed and built between 1933 and 1935. It was one of 136 new post offices and extensions planned for New York State under the 1931 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926, a public works response to the Great Depression. Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the Treasury, designed it in a very simple Colonial Revival style, with a symmetrical five-bay facade, brick walls and wood trim. Its centerpiece is a semicircular wooden portico on four Corinthian columns, a feature the nomination describes as unique among the state's post offices. Inside, the lobby keeps wood wainscoting, gray marble, terrazzo flooring and original lockboxes. Above the postmaster's office is a plaster relief titled Speed, carved by Wheeler Williams in 1936 for the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. It shows Mercury with an eagle on his shoulder. The building still serves postal use.
Significance in brief: It is an intact example of the federal public works architecture of the Great Depression and one of the simplest Colonial Revival post offices in New York State. Its semicircular wooden entrance portico with Corinthian columns is unique among the state's post offices. The lobby also holds a 1936 relief sculpture by Wheeler Williams, commissioned through 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 88002455, listed November 17, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 10 Bay Shore Ave., Bay Shore |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | November 17, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88002455 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1933-5; 1936 |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Art, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as in good condition and occupied, with exterior and interior integrity retained; original window sash replaced by one-over-one sash and lobby partition, screenline and lighting modernized. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.72329, -73.24434 (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 88002455.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7890911
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.