1938 - Lancaster Post Office - Lancaster, Wisconsin - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

The Lancaster Post Office is a one story, brick and limestone building located in the heart of the downtown area, approximately one block off the courthouse square, of Lancaster, Wisconsin. Built in 1938, the building is of the stripped modernist style favored by Federal and institutional buildings of the 1930s. At the front right of the building is a cornerstone. It notes: "Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, James A. Parley, Postmaster General, Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect, Neal A. Melick, Supervising Engineer."

The flat -roofed building is constructed of tan brick with limestone trim. It sits on a concrete foundation. The plan of the building is rectangular with the main facade on West Maple Street. The front elevation is organized symmetrically about the entry. The entry steps leading to the front door are of granite with painted metal railings on either side. The central of the three pavilions of the front facade is faced with limestone. At the center is the door and a window on each side. Above each opening is a linear, stylized carving. Across the width of the central portion is carved: "United States Post Office Lancaster Wisconsin 53813." The zip code is a later addition, and it does not match the symmetrical placing of the lettered text. The two side pavilions have a single, recessed window with a limestone panel below. All of the windows and glass door are set in dark bronze aluminum and are replacements.

The side elevations follow the pattern of the end pavilions. Each side elevation has five windows. These are recessed and have limestone panels below. The panels extend to the concrete base of the building. The rear elevation features three windows and a one-story loading dock.<br
This building is the first federally owned post office in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Prior to its construction, postal services were conducted in various locations selected by a series of local postmasters. Postal service in Lancaster dates from 1838 and the first postmaster was George H. Cox. The Lancaster Post Office was one of a series constructed in Wisconsin by the Public Works Administration in the 1930s. Many of the post offices were built from standard plans with slight variations in facade treatment. The Lancaster Post Office is of the same general design as the post office building in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. (The latter is not being nominated due to lack of integrity.) The history of post office construction in Wisconsin during this period is discussed in the multiple property nomination.

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