1927 - Old Cody Post Office - Cody, WY
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 44° 31.510 W 109° 03.735
12T E 653981 N 4932031
Certainly not the first post office in Cody, neither is this its last.
Waymark Code: WM10AN8
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2019
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 0

The citizens of Cody had hoped to have their spanking new post office open for Christmas of 1927, but such was not to be the case. However, the 72 foot by 44 foot building, centered in a quarter of a block on Third Street and Beck Avenue, did manage to open not long after, a public preview being held on Monday January, 09, 1928. A two storey buff brick building, it was built to house not only Cody's post office, but the offices of the Forestry department and the Shoshone Reclamation Project.

Not a particularly "flashy" building, it does have some classical detailing, such as a Grecian portico over the main entrance, surmounted by a terra cotta Roman arch with a classical keystone. Flanking the entrance are a pair of full height windows with decorated arched terra cotta transoms. Otherwise, not a lot of expense was incurred on the exterior of the building.

Cody's first post office opened in 1896, at the same time the town itself was getting underway. Some time in the recent past a new post office was built in the city at 1301 Stampede Avenue, a few blocks south of this building. Cody post offices seem not to be a subject discussed at length online, so we can't say when that upheaval took place. The building has since been sold into private hands and is being used as a business block, housing several businesses of various stripes.

The news article below, published mere days before this post office opened in 1928, offers more information on the building itself.
CODY'S NEW P.O. READY
WILL GO INTO NEW QUARTERS THIS WEEK - PUBLIC SHOWN INTERIOR ON MONDAY SHORT PROGRAM

Cody Enterprise | January 11, 1928, page 1
The people of Cody were given an opportunity of going through Cody's new federal building on Monday, immediately after the Cody Club luncheon, at which time a short program was held in the beautiful lobby of Uncle Sam's new building, Postmaster Ora Sonners and several of the old timers of the Cody community had an opportunity of speaking on the post offices of Cody during the early days. Those making talks besides Mr. Sonners included Oov. Geo. T. Beck, Sen J.M, Schwoob and T.I. Marshall, government engineer and inspector on the Job during the building of the new building.

As finished Cody's new post office is one of the finest in the state. Located directly south of the First National bank, it occupies an entire quarter of a block, facing the east. It is a two story building, with full basement, built throughout for permanency. Light brick has been used for the exterior trimmed with a white sandstone of white marble appearance. The, lobby has a terrazzo floor with oak paneled walls trimmed with white marble. The stairway leading to the second floor is also of marble. The equipment used in the new post office is the most uptodate in use anywhere in the United States at the present time. Everything has been installed which will make for efficiency In the distributing department, and with adequate room the work will no doubt be much easier.

There will be a money-order department to the left of the door as you enter the new office, where all c. o. d.'s, stamps and insured parcels are handled. This section is screened in from the rest of the department, and will have a clerk in charge at all times. There will also be a window where a clerk will have charge of parcel post and general delivery mall.

The Forestry department has already taken possession of the east suite of rooms on the second floor and the west suite has been assigned to the Shoshone Reclamation offices for use any time this department may be moved to Cody.

The new federal building was constructed at a cost to the government of $74,569.50, and an additional $4,000 for fixtures. W. D. Lovell, of Minneapolis, was the successful bidder for this contract, and started the work in the fall of 1926. His engineer in charge has been Mr. Chas. McCune and J.I. Marshall has been the governmental representative on the job.

The first appropriation for the Cody federal building was secured in 1906, at a time when Senators Warren and Clark and Congressman Mondell represented Wyoming at Washington. At this time a small appropriation was made and the site selected. In 1913 $50,000 was made available for the building of a post office here, but with the demands which seemed apparent on the building, it was thought that this amount would not be sufficient, and the project was delayed. With the war coming on later, and a policy retrenchment adopted, it was not until 1926 that enough money was made available to start the work.
From the Cody Enterprise
Year of construction: 1927

Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link]

Full inscription:
A W Mellon
Secretary of the Treasury
James A Wetmore
Acting Supervising Architect
1927


Visit Instructions:

When logging a visit to a waymark in this category, please provide one or more photos taken by yourself, and note down your impressions and any background information you may have.

Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Dated Buildings and Cornerstones
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.