US Post Office - Deer Lodge, MT
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T0SHEA
N 46° 23.963 W 112° 44.117
12T E 366604 N 5139886
A Post Office financed by a banker. You don't seem to see that much anymore. But it happened in 1911 in Deer Lodge, when this post office was brought to light.
Waymark Code: WMKQH0
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 05/16/2014
Views: 1
Banker S. E. Larabie financed the construction of this one-story brick post office in 1911. The Silver State pronounced it “the finest post office of any city of its size in Montana.” The interior featured finished oak, while protective wire screening from floor to ceiling separated the public from official business. Postmaster Ithel S. Eldred’s private office was at the front. Next were the money order, registered mail, and general delivery windows, separated by wire screen partitions. Receptacles for letters and large packages and a second private office were at the back. Three wired glass skylights and tall windows at the front and rear brought in plenty of natural light.
An entry on the right provided access to the postmaster’s office; an identical door at the left served as the public entrance. Decorative brickwork, dentils, and a wooden cornice at the roofline preserve the original Western commercial style details. A small ancillary brick structure at the rear originally functioned as a bake house with a built-in oven. By the 1920s it served as a furnished room.
From the NRHP Plaque