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 Post Office - Wallace, ID Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 28.352 W 115° 55.600
11T E 580878 N 5258235
It's a post office, it's built of brick with stone trim and it was built in Idaho in 1936. I'll bet it was a project of the Works Progress Administration
Waymark Code: WMXA74
Location: Idaho, United States
Date Posted: 12/16/2017
Views: 2
Built in 1935, the one story post office still handles the mail for the town, and is likely to do so for many more years. Built with WPA funding, though the granite plaque on the building is dated 1935, the NRHP Registration Form insists that construction was not begun until 1936. It's not my place to dispute it. One story in the front and two in the rear (the result of a 1960s addition) the post office was built of buff colored brick with stone trim. A little Neo-Classical in the styling, the sandstone lintels and pilasters which define three bays of the façade are set into the brickwork.
The design of the building is transitional in that its historical architectural elements are well-defined—in the Neo-Classical mode — yet the façade has been flattened with these elements essentially embedded in the façade plane. The use of sandstone architraves (pilasters and entablature) to frame the central bays, the symmetry, and the massing are characteristic of the Beaux Arts tradition of federal design. The flatness of the façade and simplification of the historical elements indicate the modern or International influence that dictated the design styles of the mid- to late-1930s. Even though the façade is flat and relatively simple, the use of sandstone for the architraves surrounding the central bays and the articulation of the central façade, impart a sense of quality and sophistication that is characteristic of Federal design of the period.
From the NRHP Registration Form
With a present population 784, Wallace, the self proclaimed "Silver Capital of the World", today is much smaller than when it reached its population peak of about 3,900 in the early 1940s. Established in 1884, Wallace's population had reached 3,000 by 1910. It was in 1910 that the Great Fire of 1910, which burned about 3,000,000 acres (12,141 km2; 4,688 sq mi) in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, took with it a third of the town. To a town intent on mining precious metal, this was looked upon as simply a slight and temporary setback. Moreover, this was the second time that Wallace had experienced a major fire, losing its entire downtown to fire on July 27, 1890. This helps to explain why most downtown buildings date to 1890 and are made predominantly of brick and stone.
An interesting factoid about Wallace is that " every downtown building is on the National Register of Historic Places". As a result, the government was forced to build I-90, around Wallace, instead of through it. Another one is that this area is " the only place on earth where more than a billion ounces of silver were mined in 100 years." Silver continues to be mined in the area. The town, incidentally, was named for its founder, Colonel William R. Wallace, who, in 1883, bought 80 acres of swamp land which eventually became Wallace.
US Post Office
The Wallace Main Post Office is a well-preserved example of a small-town combined post office and federal office building. Designed in the Neo-Classical mode, the building represents the transition between the Beaux-Arts tradition of early-1900s Federal architecture and the modern or International design influence. Though the facade is relatively simple, the Classical order flat sandstone surrounds of the three central bays suggest a stronger link with the past than with the more modern designs which followed. The building was the city's first federally-constructed post office and symbolizes the link with the federal government. It is also within the boundaries of the Wallace Historic District.
Wallace is located in the historic Coeur d'Alene mining district of northern Idaho. The seat of Shoshone county, Wallace today has an economy based on mining and retail trade. In 1980 its population was 1,736. In 1884 Colonel W. R. Wallace and several other men packed to the site of what is now Wallace and built a cabin. The party platted the ground and established a general layout of the town, then known as Placer Center. Also in 1884 lead ore was discovered in the area and placer mining ceased and prospecting followed in earnest. A post office was established on a special route on August 17, 1886 with Mrs. Lucie Wallace as postmistress. In 1887 a city government was set up (Col. Wallace was elected mayor; Jack Dunn, D. C. McKissick and two others were named commissioners) and the town was officially named Wallace/ in honor of Col. Wallace. With the arrival of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1887 Wallace became the major supply point and economic center for the rich lead-silver Coeur d'Alene mining district. The town
was incorporated in 1888; Col. Wallace, Horace King, C. M. Hall, C. W. Vender, and D. C. McKiss were appointed as the first board of trustees. By 1890 there were 878 people living in Wallace.
On July 27, 1890 fire destroyed the entire business section of Wallace. The town, originally built of wood, was rebuilt primarily with brick as the town began to reap the tremendous benefits of the developing lead-silver mines. In 1893 a city charter was obtained; W. S. Haskins was elected the first mayor under the new system. About this time a system of waterworks were installed and hydroelectric plants were constructed near the city. City postal delivery service
was established in 1895, with two letter carriers, one substitute carrier, and 13 letter boxes. In 1898 Wallace became the political center of the region in addition to the economic center when it was made the county seat. By 1900 Wallace's population had grown to 2,265; it grew to 3,000 in
1910 before dropping slightly to 2,816 in 1920. It climbed to 3,634 in 1930 and to 3,839 in 1940, which would prove to be its peak population. By 1950 it had dropped to 3,149; between 1960 and 1970 it dropped further, from 2,412 to 2,206. In 1980 Wallace's population was 1,736.
From the NRHP Registration Form 
Project type: Government building (non-park)
Date built or created: 1935-36
Location: 403 Cedar Street
City: Wallace
Condition: Good upkeep with a little wear and tear
Website for additional information: [Web Link]
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