Official name: Federal Building - United States Post Office Formerly: Phoenix Federal Building Built: 1932-1936 Designed by: Lescher and Mahoney Type: Government Building Stories: 2 Location: 522 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, United States
Description by United States General Services Administration T he Federal Building-United States Post Office in Phoenix, Arizona is significant on a local level in two areas: architecture and politics/government. A good example of federal architecture adapted to a regional tradition, in this case the Spanish Colonial Revival, the building was erected during the years 1932 to 1936. Part of an extensive federal building program initiated in the late 1920s, it housed the main post office of Phoenix for over thirty years, as well as the offices of the judiciary and several federal agencies. A few years after opening, murals commissioned by Treasury Department were installed in the lobby. Substantially intact, the Federal Building-Post Office continues to function as a post office branch and its tenants include the U. S. Tax Court and assorted federal entities.
The construction of the Post Office marked Phoenix's rapid growth and its important position as the state capital. Founded in 1870-71, Phoenix had a series of post office facilities until 1913, when the U. S. Treasury Department built the Phoenix Post Office and Courthouse. By 1930, the city had outgrown the building, and Congress appropriated the funds for a new building. The Phoenix Federal Building would be one of the results of the massive federal building program underway at the time, partially in an attempt to combat the deepening Depression.
A site was chosen in 1931 and Phoenix architects Lescher and Mahoney were commissioned to design a six story building that was intended to house all of the federal services in the city. Construction was begun on the foundations. For a variety of reasons, including the unexpectedly high cost of land acquisition, the design for a three story rather than a six story building was submitted to the Treasury Department for review. By the time construction bids were again sought, the building had assumed a Spanish Colonial Revival appearance and two story height. The building opened on September 29, 1936 of that year when the post office began operations in its new home. Two years later, in 1938, the Fine Arts Section of the Treasury Department commissioned artists La Verne Black and Oscar E. Berninghaus to paint two murals each to embellish the public space of the office.
A landmark in central Phoenix, the Federal Building-Post Office was symbolic of the federal presence in the City and a focus of local pride. It continues today in those capacities, although construction of a new post office in 1968 absorbed several of its tenants. The only federal building from the period remaining in the city, the Post Office possesses substantial architectural merit as an example of Spanish Colonial Revival design.
New York, United States
