Old Post Office (Augusta, Maine)

Old Post Office

The Old Post Office in 2013
Location 295 Water St., Augusta, Maine
Coordinates 44°18′51.98″N 69°46′29.6″W / 44.3144389°N 69.774889°W / 44.3144389; -69.774889Coordinates: 44°18′51.98″N 69°46′29.6″W / 44.3144389°N 69.774889°W / 44.3144389; -69.774889
Built 1886-1890
Architect Mifflin Bell
Architectural style Romanesque Revival
NRHP Reference # 74000172[1]
Added to NRHP July 18, 1974

Old Post Office and Court House is a historic building on Water Street in Augusta, Maine. It was built in 1886-1890 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Design and Construction

The Post Office and Court House is a symmetrical granite structure with a central tower, flanked on either side by a wall and smaller tower. It was designed by Mifflin E. Bell (1846-1904), the Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell's term ended July 1887, and his successor William Alfred Freret finished the job, and the building opened in January 1890.[2] The cost of construction was $178,281.20. It contained 427,600 cubic feet, was heated by steam, and contained a hydraulic freight elevator for post office use.[3]

The building was enlarged sometime during the tenure of treasury architect James Knox Taylor (1897 to mid-1912).[2]

History

The building was used as a courthouse and post office until the 1960s, when a new, larger federal building was constructed for these uses. The Old Post Office was sold as surplus property to a private owner, which added a bank, restaurant, and office, while largely preserving the exterior.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 Maine Historic Preservation Commission (11 January 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. ↑ History of Public Buildings under the control of the Treasury Department. Government Printing Office. 1901.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Olde Federal Building.


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