U. S. Post Office - Fort Worth Main Post Office
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QuesterMark
N 32° 44.790 W 097° 19.791
14S E 656472 N 3624418
Designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick and completed in 1933, the Fort Worth Main Post Office, still in use, has exterior ornamentation that reflects the influence of the cattle industry.
Waymark Code: WM29T4
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/28/2007
Views: 151
The Main Post Office Building is one of the most significant Beaux Arts/Classical Revival buildings in Fort Worth. Designed with three floors and a basement, this four level reinforced concrete structure spans the entire city block upon which it is located. It has a cut-limestone exterior with 16 giant-order unfluted columns with extraordinary Corinthian-inspired capitals of shorthorn cattle (in place of volutes), acanthus leaves, and a longhorn bucranium central part.
All earlier Fort Worth post offices have been demolished, leaving this massive 1931 structure with the longest continuous association with mail delivery in the county.
Because of the community's growth and the need for expanded postal facilities, in 1931 the federal government purchased a tract of land from the Texas and Pacific Railroad Company for $200,000 on which to construct a new post office building. Its location adjacent to the Texas and Pacific Railway Station was expected to improve service, since most of the incoming and outgoing mail would be handled by the railroads that used that station. Groundbreaking for the planned $1,245,000 building took place on August 11, 1931, with the construction work being done by Ralph Sollitt and Sons, a Chicago contracting firm. The new post office building was designed by the firm of Wyatt C. Hedrick, a nationally known architect-engineer.
Street address:
251 W Lancaster Avenue
Fort Worth, TX United States
76102
County / Borough / Parish: Tarrant County
Year listed: 1985
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1925-1949
Historic function: Government; Post Office
Current function: Government; Post Office
Privately owned?: no
Hours of operation: From: 8:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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