The story of the Old Post Office from its design in 1891 to the campaign that saved it: the architect, the Federal Triangle that grew around it, the postal headquarters inside and Pennsylvania Avenue outside.
Category Archives
History & Architecture
Pennsylvania Avenue: Hotels, Parades and Gambling Rooms on America's Main Street
Pennsylvania Avenue links the Capitol and the White House. The story of its hotels, inaugural parades, antebellum gambling rooms and long decline, and how the Old Post Office anchored its revival. Continue reading →
Flag Day and the Dead Letters: Inside the Postal Headquarters
From 1899 to 1934 the Old Post Office ran America's mail. Flag Day celebrations in the light court, the Dead Letter Office and its odd little museum, and the postal war on lottery tickets. Continue reading →
Willoughby J. Edbrooke and the Romanesque Revival Post Office
Willoughby J. Edbrooke designed the Georgia State Capitol and Notre Dame's Main Building before his short term as Supervising Architect of the Treasury produced the Old Post Office. Continue reading →
The Federal Triangle: How a Rough Neighbourhood Became a Capital Showpiece
Before the Federal Triangle there was Murder Bay, a market and a strip of hotels and gambling rooms. How the 1926 plan built a classical government precinct around the Old Post Office. Continue reading →
Don't Tear It Down: How Washington Saved the Old Post Office
Twice marked for demolition, the Old Post Office survived thanks to the Depression, a grassroots protest group and Nancy Hanks of the National Endowment for the Arts. How the campaign was won. Continue reading →