US Post Office and Federal Building - Lewistown, MT - Doorways of the World on Waymarking.com

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US Post Office and Federal Building - Lewistown, MT

in Doorways of the World

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 619418 N 5213722

Lewistown's beautiful Greek Revival post office stands on Third Avenue North between Washington and Broadway Streets.

Designed by James A. Wetmore, the Post Office and Federal Building was built by the McGough Brothers firm of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cornerstone was laid on May 11th, 1931 and the building was dedicated on November 25, 1931 in the presence of 1,000 appreciative onlookers. The Greek Revival-Beaux-Arts building has been noted as being "the best example of the transition from the Beaux-Arts to the modern in the Northwest". Primarily faced with red brick with terra cotta embellishment, in particular surrounding the central entrance, the building is very tastefully finished, yet not extravagant. Much detail went into the entrance, framed with Ionic columns outside a terra cotta door frame, with a triangular Greek pediment atop. The general motif of much of the terra cotta takes an egg and dart form.

While this was, and is, Lewistown's only federally constructed post office, it is far from its first. A quick count reveals at least four earlier post offices in the town, from 1884 to the time this building was erected.

US Post Office and Federal Building

The Lewistown Main Post Office is an outstanding and unique example of a single-purpose post office in the late Beaux-Arts tradition. The building's relatively flat, plain facade to which a white Greek temple entrance has been affixed represents the best example of the transition from the Beaux-Arts to the modern in the Northwest.

The Lewistown Post Office received its initial appropriation of $50,000 (of a total estimated cost of $165,000) for site acquisition and commencement of construction in the Deficiency Act of May 29, 1928... ...The construction of a federal building in Lewistown had been urged prior to World War I by Congressman Tom Stout, but his efforts were stymied by the outbreak of the war.

After some delay in clearing title to the site, the Lewistown Democrat News reported the start of site excavation on March 2, 1931. J.J. Willie, foreman of construction for McGough Brothers of Minneapolis, Minnesota, directed the work. On March 15th, the News reported "much interest" in the excavation site as contractor Walter O'Neill of Stanford directed his crew and the five teams of horses in removing the soil.

The Lewistown Main Post Office is one story in height, strongly horizontal in elevation, and topped by a low metal-clad hipped roof, which rises from behind a solid brick parapet. The building's structure is supported by reinforced concrete with red brick and white terra cotta facing the exterior. The symmetrically arranged front façade is flat with slight articulation of the single-bayed end wings and of the centered entry section. White terra cotta is used to demark the quoins of the end wings and as a medium for the richly molded entry ensemble. The otherwise plain façade of red brick establishes a field against, which a white Greek temple is placed. Engaged fluted columns with Ionic capitals, triangular pediment and dentil molding enrichen the entry.
From the NRHP Nomination Form