United States Post Office Nowata, Oklahoma
Posted by: YoSam.
N 36° 42.037 W 095° 38.359
15S E 264222 N 4064908
Noweata people called the town after themselves, but the railroad workers pronounced it Nowata, and the Federal Government made it so...
Waymark Code: WMZKN0
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/25/2018
Views: 0
County of Post Office: Nowata County
Location of Post Office: 109 N. Pine St., Nowata
Architect: Woody Crumbo & Louis Simon
Architectural Style: Art Deco
Phone: (918) 273-1681
"The United States Post Office in Nowata, Oklahoma was built in 1938 on the northwest corner of North
Pine and West Cherokee Street in downtown Nowata. It occupies a hill location, and its situation places
it in proximity to one of the town's early residential districts located just one block up the hill to the west.
The post office has a deep setback and except for the south elevation, is surrounded by very little
grass or shrubs. There are three sizable trees on the south and a wide band of grass between the post
office and the street. An alley separates the post office from property to the west, and on the north
elevation there is a parking area and loading zone. A small shrub marks the northeast corner of the
building, and there is a small patch of grass between the stairs to the entrance and this corner. On the
street side of the sidewalk at the northeast and southeast corners of the building there are two more
patches of grass. There is a flagpole on the southeast corner. A loading dock has been added on the
north elevation. Except for this, the footprint of the building is square. A freestanding metal shed with a
gambrel roof stands adjacent to the post office on the southwest corner.
"Designed in the Art Deco style, the post office is a modest, single-story buff brick building with a raised
basement. It has a simple, symmetrical fagade with a central entrance flanked on either side by two
large windows. The most distinctive part of the fagade consists of three recessed gray-colored
concrete panels above the entrance and the adjacent windows. From left to right, these panels carry
the imprinted designs of a train, plane, and boat all emblems of transportation expressing not only the
mobility of the mail, but, more importantly, the modernity of the postal system. More gray-colored
concrete frames the entire opening around the entrance and adjacent windows and provides an
attractive contrast to the brick cladding. Decorative brickwork continues the framing effect and creates
the impression that the bricks surrounding these openings are recessed. A narrow horizontal band of
concrete tops these three openings and encircles the building. In the wall space above this band and
centered above the entrance are the words "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE" and, below them in
smaller lettering, "NOWATA, OKLAHOMA." The top of the building is distinguished by continuous
concrete coping." ~ NRHP Nomination Form