West Allis Post Office
West Allis Post Office
Location7440 W. Greenfield Ave.
West Allis, Wisconsin
Coordinates43°01′01″N 88°00′20″W / 43.01688°N 88.00567°W / 43.01688; -88.00567
Built1939
ArchitectNeal A. Melick/Louis A. Simon
Architectural styleModern Movement
NRHP reference No.01000174
Added to NRHPFebruary 23, 2001

The West Allis Post Office is a historic U.S. Post Office built in West Allis, Wisconsin in 1939. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1]

The post office was built by the Public Works Administration of the New Deal[1] from 1939-40. The style is Stripped Classical, combining the massing and symmetry of Neoclassical style with some of the simplicity and anonymity of Moderne style. The building is two stories, brown brick walls sitting on a granite base, with a minimal cornice and a low hip roof. The front door and window openings are large, two stories tall, and arranged symmetrically, to perhaps suggest the grand portico of a Greek temple. Centered above the door is a sculpted eagle surrounded by stars. Inside, the walls are finished in marble wainscot and plaster. The lobby floor is beige terrazzo tiles with a red terrazzo border.[2]

In the lobby are two large murals painted by Frances Foy in 1942:[3] Wisconsin Wild Flowers - Spring and Wisconsin Wild Flowers - Autumn. Foy painted the murals for the Section of Fine Arts,[2] a New Deal project. One percent of the cost of the public building was reserved for art in the building, aiming to provide work for artists and to decorate the building with art that was locally relevant and that would raise the morale of the viewing public.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "West Allis Post Office". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  2. 1 2 Charles W. Causier; Joseph G. Jurkiewicz (1993-12-29). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: West Allis Post Office". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-11-30. With 12 photos.
  3. ↑ "West Allis Post Office - West Allis, WI". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  4. ↑ Raynor, Patricia. "New Deal Post Office Murals". Off the Wall. Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved 2018-11-30.

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