US Post Office-Peekskill
Also known as: Peekskill Post Office
Why it's listed
Located at 738 South Street in Peekskill, this one-story post office is faced in red brick laid in English bond, with limestone and wood trim. Its main facade is organized around three tall semicircular arches. The center arch holds the entrance, framed by Doric pilasters, and the flanking arches hold Palladian windows. Inside, the public lobby has white marble wainscoting, Adamesque woodwork and a Palladian window echoing the exterior. Designed in 1930 and finished in 1931 while James A. Wetmore served as Acting Supervising Architect of the Treasury, the building was funded with $165,000 under a 1930 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926. It replaced an earlier post office that had been converted from a Victorian house on the same site. Its Georgian-derived detailing is richer than that of most small post offices of the era, and it may have served as a model for later offices in Warsaw, Riverhead, Massena and Fredonia. Additions made in 1967 are considered sympathetic to the original design.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a distinguished example of an early twentieth century Colonial Revival public building in New York State. Its limestone and wood ornamentation, drawn from Georgian architecture, sets it apart from plainer post offices of the period. It was built under a 1930 amendment to the Public Buildings Act of 1926, an early federal response to the Depression, and may have been the prototype for later post offices in Warsaw, Riverhead, Massena and Fredonia.
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 88002401, listed May 11, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 738 South St., Peekskill |
|---|---|
| County | Westchester County |
| Listed | May 11, 1989 |
| Reference number | 88002401 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1930-1931 |
| Architect / builder | James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied and publicly owned. A rear wing and west-side mailing platform were added in 1967; the nomination calls the additions sympathetic to the original design but counts the addition as non-contributing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Peekskill Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.28958, -73.92298 (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 88002401.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7891027
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.