Vacant US Post Office in AL


Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama
Date added: October 24, 2023 Categories: Alabama Post Office
East facade (right) and south elevation looking northwest (2009)

A post office was first established in what would later become Guntersville in 1833 as Helicon. The name was changed to Van Buren after Marshall County was established in 1836. It was renamed Marshall in 1844, then Gunter's Landing in 1844, and finally Guntersville on January 21, 1854. The first dedicated post office building was constructed in 1910. Home postal delivery began in the town of Guntersville in 1922 and the postal service upgraded the postal facility in 1928.

In November 1933, the Guntersville Advertiser Democrat noted: "Guntersville has a good chance of securing a post office at an early date. Material and labor are cheap and numbers of men are needing work, so now is a good time to build." The election of Joe Starnes of Guntersville to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1935 gave the project an influential spokesman. Starnes, a Democrat, was a World War I veteran and graduate of the University of Alabama Law School. He won office in the election of 1934 by upsetting the heavily favored J.J. Heflin. During his decade in Congress, Starnes was a major supporter of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, and the Rural Electrification Administration. His influence helped not only to secure a new post office for Guntersville, but also to increase its budget to insure that it would be a more substantial building than originally planned.

Four more years would pass before it was announced that $7,500 had been appropriated for the acquisition of property for the project. The newspaper noted on May 4, 1938 that postal authorities had chosen the residence of Mollie Lusk on Gunter Avenue to be the site for the building and that "it is thought that work will begin on the new building by August." Another delay was announced in August, but the newspaper boasted that "by waiting a while longer Guntersville will get a larger and better building than was first planned...a two story building with a basement, is now planned, but it will be several months before the additional cash is available." By April 1939, it appeared that the project was on hold again or dropped altogether. It was not until December 6, that deeds were forwarded to the landowners for their signatures. After a delay caused by an heir who refused to sign the deed, it was finally announced that the deed had been executed in February 1940.

Work on the building commenced in May 1940 with Ray M. Lee Company of Atlanta serving as general contractor for the $86,880 construction project. The project was funded through the federal Public Works Administration, a division of the Public Works Agency, as administered by the Public Buildings Administration. The Supervising architect for the project was Louis A. Simon and the Supervising Engineer was Neal A. Melick. In August 1940 it was announced that the building would be faced with marble instead of brick. Surviving architectural drawings for the building show the elevations drawn in May 1940 in marble with many of the detail drawings completed earlier in January indicating brick.

A ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone "of this magnificent building that is nearing completion" was held on November 20th, with Representative Starnes in attendance. Construction was completed in time for a dedication ceremony on June 2, 1941. The final cost of the building was noted in the local newspapers as $115,000 and likely included the cost of land acquisition, construction, and equipment and furnishings for the postal operations. The Chamber of Commerce President stated in the May 29, 1941 Guntersville Gleam that: "We appreciate greatly the efforts of Congressman Joe Starnes in getting this post office for Guntersville."

The office spaces in the second floor of the building were originally occupied by the county agent, the AAA, and Congressman Starnes. The mix of tenants changed throughout the ensuing years.

The City of Guntersville acquired the property from the United States Postal Service in 2007 for $425,000 after the Postal Service completed a new post office on Blount Avenue.

Louis A. Simon

Louis Adolphe Simon (1867-1958), a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained architect, went to work with the Office of the Supervising Architect in the Department of the Treasury in 1896. In 1915, he was appointed Chief of the Engineering and Drafting Division under then Acting Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore (1863-1940). Wetmore was an attorney by training and he served primarily as an administrator. As an architect, Simon exerted considerable influence over the designs of federal buildings during the period. It was during this period that the office began to turn away from the more elaborate late Victorian and turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts styles toward more modest Renaissance Revival or Colonial Revival-inspired styles. While this shift in part reflected prevailing trends in American architecture, it was also a logical response to the reduced financial resources available to the government during the Depression.

Simon continued to favor Renaissance Revival and Colonial Revival designs, especially the latter, upon taking over as Supervising Architect in 1934. He served in that capacity until 1941 and during his tenure, the office often utilized restrained Italian Renaissance Revival or Colonial Revival-inspired designs that were sometimes referred to as "Stripped Classical" or "Starved Classical."

Simon's other designs in Alabama include the United States Courthouse and Post Office in Huntsville and the post offices in Bay Minette, Jacksonville, and Montevallo. The large three-story Huntsville building (1935) is a Classical Revival style building faced with marble. While still somewhat restrained in its architectural details, the building is nonetheless more imposing than Simon's other post office works in the state due to its scale. Simon's design for the Bay Minette (1938) post office features a prominent pedimented classical portico attached to an otherwise relatively plain one-story brick building. The one-story post office at Jacksonville (1939) is faced with stone and has a hipped roof with a central lantern. The Montevallo building, completed in 1936, is a good example of Simon's use of the Colonial Revival style with modest detailing. The one-story brick building features a limestone cornice, door surround, and water table and brick quoins but is otherwise quite simple in design. The interior also features a wood frame vestibule and marble wainscoting. While the known works of Simon in Alabama all retain integrity, the Guntersville Post Office, while also Colonial Revival in style, is more architecturally refined than his other post office designs through its use of a marble exterior veneer and its prominent and well-detailed cupola.

Simon retired in 1941 and the Guntersville Post Office is among his latter designs. An article in The Federal Architect of that year noted: "Louis A. Simon will have a thousand or more buildings throughout the land, some bearing his name, some not, which are tokens of his architectural ability. Words concerning that ability are relatively ineffectual. It is the buildings themselves which are the best commentary of his judgment and his service to the country."

Building Description

The Guntersville Post Office Building is located at 520 Gunter Avenue in the commercial core of Guntersville, Alabama. The two-story Colonial Revival-style building faces east and is situated at the center of the east end of its rectangular lot. The lot is set into a low hill that slopes upward from the front to the rear. Reinforced concrete retaining walls enclose the north, west, and south sides of the site. A narrow front lawn slopes down to a sidewalk and two flights of stairs provide access at the center of the building. The lower flight is constructed of rough sandstone with simple pipe railings and the upper flight is clad with smooth-cut marble and has decorative iron railings. Sidewalks and driveways are separated from the north and south sides of the building by narrow strips of lawn that are interrupted by recessed concrete window wells with simple pipe railings. The driveways lead to a large parking area that covers the rear of the site.

The two-story marble-clad brick and concrete building has a five-by-two bay front portion with a hipped slate roof with a prominent central cupola. The slightly recessed four-bay deep rear portion has a slate pent roof surrounding a central flat built-up roof. Centered at the rear of the building is a one-story two-by-one bay extension with a flat roof. A loading dock with a flat metal canopy extends to the rear of the extension and a large chimney flanks it to the south. The exterior walls at the east facade and north and south elevations are faced with smooth-cut Alabama marble. The west elevation is painted finished brick set in common bond. A thin projecting molded marble cornice surrounds the entire building, as does a slightly projecting plinth that is clad with marble at all but the rear elevation.

The principal entrance is located at the center bay of the facade and is flanked to either side by two single wood twelve-over-twelve light double-hung sash windows with simple flat sills. The entrance is slightly recessed within a segmental-arched opening with prominent voussoirs flush with the surrounding wall. Tuscan order columns and pilasters supporting an entablature frame double leaf metal doors with a blind transom. A decorative relief eagle adorns the plain tympanum above the entablature. Decorative metal lighting sconces flank the entrance as well as applied metal letters that read "Guntersville" to the south and "Alabama 35976" to the north. Single eight-over-eight double-hung sash windows are set within all five bays of the upper level corresponding to the openings below. Ghosts of former applied lettering reading "United States Post Office" are located at the center of the facade just below the cornice. A cornerstone is set at the right side of the plinth.

The north elevation is similar in design to the facade and has twelve-over-twelve light double-hung sash windows at the six bays of its lower level with corresponding eight-over-eight windows at the upper level. The center window opening at the first floor has been infilled with a smaller window surrounded by marble. A slight jog in the wall between the second and third bays separates the front hipped-roofed core from the rear section. The south elevation is similar to the north but has a single pedestrian entrance at the second bay of its lower level. A double-leaf cargo door and a single-leaf pedestrian entrance are centered at the loading dock along the rear elevation. Single twelve-over-twelve windows are set within the two outer bays and five eight-over-eight windows are unevenly spaced along the upper level.

The principal entrance leads into a glass and frame vestibule within a wide lobby that extends almost the full width of the building along its east wall. The hallway returns along the south wall approximately half the depth of the building and has been subdivided by a modern partition. An open-well staircase, with an iron railing, wood handrails, and marble steps, rises along the east wall at the southeast corner of the room and returns along the south wall. An open counter window is located in the west wall opposite the entrance and is flanked to the south by a bank of post office boxes. Similar banks of post office boxes extend along the north, south, and west walls of the southern portion of the hallway. A door centered at the north wall of the lobby leads into a small office. A mural is centered across the upper level of the wall above the door. The mural, entitled "Indians Receiving Gifts from the Spanish," was painted by artist Charles Russell Hardman and was added in 1947. The hallway has a terrazzo floor and a high polished marble wainscoting with smooth plaster walls above. A molded plaster cornice frames the flat plaster ceiling. Decorative rectangular mechanical grilles are spaced along the upper sections of the west wall and north wall of the southern portion of the lobby.

The office to the north of the lobby is flanked to the west by another office, a restroom, a vault, and a closet, the grouping of which extends back about half the depth of the building. The remainder of the first floor is a large open workroom. Modern dropped acoustical ceilings have been installed at the offices and the workroom. Walls were historically finished with smooth plaster and original walls retain molded wood door surrounds, chair rails, and baseboards. The wall separating the two offices appears to be a modern alteration and has simple modern door surrounds and baseboards. The walls within the east office are covered with modern plywood paneling. Floors in the offices are covered with modern carpet, the bathroom floor retains a historic tile floor, and the workroom floor is finished with a mix of historic wood flooring and modern plywood. The vault was manufactured by the York Safe and Lock Company of York, Pennsylvania and has a simple flat door with a painted decorative pin stripe surround and an eagle emblem.

A loading area at the rear extension is flanked to the south by a small closet and to the north by a concrete staircase with a pipe railing that descends to the basement.

A small core of mechanical rooms is centered at the second-floor level. A hallway leading north from a small vestibule at the south wall flanks the mechanical rooms and turns to the west along its north side. A series of offices and closets flank the hallway and the mechanical core to the east, north, and west. Windows and historic doors typically retain their historic molded wood surrounds and paneled doors. With the exception of the terrazzo floor in the hallway, floors are typically exposed hardwood, with some areas having later carpet or sheet vinyl finishes. The ceiling in the hallway is smooth plaster and modern dropped acoustical ceilings have been installed in most office areas. Walls are typically finished with smooth plaster except for some later sheetrock partitions at the southwest end of the floor.

The building has a full basement with concrete exterior walls and floor. A hallway extends from the staircase at the rear wall eastward to a large front room and is flanked to either side by smaller rooms. Walls and ceilings are typically finished with smooth plaster and floors are exposed concrete.

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor plan (2009)
First floor plan (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama Second floor plan (2009)
Second floor plan (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama East facade (right) and south elevation looking northwest (2009)
East facade (right) and south elevation looking northwest (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama East facade looking west (2009)
East facade looking west (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama East facade, detail of entrance looking west (2009)
East facade, detail of entrance looking west (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama East facade (left) and north elevation (right) looking southwest (2009)
East facade (left) and north elevation (right) looking southwest (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama North (left) and west (right) elevations looking southeast (2009)
North (left) and west (right) elevations looking southeast (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama West (left) and south (right) elevations looking northeast (2009)
West (left) and south (right) elevations looking northeast (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama Site, rear parking area looking northeast (2009)
Site, rear parking area looking northeast (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, lobby looking north (2009)
First floor, lobby looking north (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, lobby, detail of mural looking north (2009)
First floor, lobby, detail of mural looking north (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, lobby, detail of staircase looking south (2009)
First floor, lobby, detail of staircase looking south (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, workroom looking southwest (2009)
First floor, workroom looking southwest (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, workroom looking south (2009)
First floor, workroom looking south (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama First floor, workroom looking northwest (2009)
First floor, workroom looking northwest (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama Second floor, hallway looking north (2009)
Second floor, hallway looking north (2009)

Old Guntersville Post Office Building, Guntersville Alabama Second floor, typical offices looking northwest (2009)
Second floor, typical offices looking northwest (2009)