US Post Office-Boone
Why it's listed
Built in 1938 on a terraced lot above King Street in Boone, this one-story post office is faced in dressed stone and set on a raised foundation. Its main entrance has a Doric-pilastered surround, a spider-web fanlight and a copper-clad roof topped by an octagonal lantern with a weathervane marked 1938. The building follows a standard federal plan designed under Louis A. Simon, supervising architect of the Treasury, with a formal public block, a service block and a rear loading dock. The lobby holds Tennessee marble wainscoting, a terrazzo floor and an oil-on-canvas mural by Connecticut artist Alan Tompkins, installed in 1940, showing a young Daniel Boone on a hunting trip. Construction was tied to the 1937 public buildings legislation and to Congressman Robert L. Doughton, who secured the appropriation. The building is valued for its architecture, its surviving New Deal art, and its role in the civic life of Boone.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building illustrates the New Deal federal building program in small North Carolina communities, designed under the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. It also holds a Daniel Boone mural commissioned through a national Section of Fine Arts competition, the only surviving New Deal post office mural in the state's northwestern mountains. The building is presented as a civic landmark that has remained in postal service.
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 95001521, listed January 11, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 679 W. King St., Boone |
|---|---|
| County | Watauga County |
| Listed | January 11, 1996 |
| Reference number | 95001521 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1938-1945 |
| Architect / builder | Louis A. Simon (architect, Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury); Neal A. Melick (supervising engineer) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains in postal service; the main entry has modern plate glass doors and the rear block contains a community group's rented space. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 36.21988, -81.68586 (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 95001521.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20715010
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.