Abandoned Post Office in Georgia

US Post Office, Sylvester Georgia

Date added: July 11, 2023 Categories: Georgia Post Office

The U.S. Post Office in Sylvester, Georgia, is one of the post offices constructed in small towns in Georgia and throughout the United States between 1932 and 1942 by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury under the auspices of various New Deal programs. Designed in a combination of modern and Colonial Revival styles, the small, one-story, brick post office in Southwest Georgia is similar in size, scale, materials, and architectural style to many of the other approximately sixty-five post offices built in Georgia during this period. The Sylvester post office, like others throughout the U. S., contains a mural depicting a scene of regional importance. Commissioned by the Section of Painting and Sculpture, the Sylvester mural depicts the cantaloupe industry in Southwest Georgia, and is a valuable document of the region's economic history.

The building was operated continuously as a post office until 1995, when petroleum fumes entering through the basement presented health hazards to the workers in the building.

During the 1930s, the number of post offices built in the United States increased dramatically as numerous public works programs were initiated to spur economic recovery and provide work for the unemployed, many of whom worked in the building trades. In 1933, the Public Works Administration (PWA) was formed to administer the planning and construction of Federal and non-Federal public works projects. The Public Buildings Act (1926), and the Federal Employment Stabilization Act (1931), enabled the PWA to begin its program without delay by starting with Federal projects such as post offices. By 1939, the PWA completed 406 post offices, nearly one-eighth of the total 3,174 construction projects funded by the Public Works Administration.

The role of the PWA in construction projects was similar to that of a bank or a large building and loan association. The PWA determined which projects received funding and ensured that its projects were completed according to the appropriate specifications. The Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury retained primary responsibility for design, construction, and allocation of post offices until the Office of the Supervising Architect was reorganized in 1939. By 1935, Treasury Department building projects were funded under the auspices of five separate programs: the original Public Building Program (1926); the PWA; the Emergency Relief and Construction Act (1932); the Emergency Construction Program (1934); and the Building Program for the District of Columbia (1926).

In 1934, the Office of the Supervising Architect was reorganized and Louis A. Simon replaced Supervising Architect James W. Wetmore. The Supervising Architect's office, which lost its independence as a separate office in the Office of the Treasury Secretary, was replaced by the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department. In February 1934, the Supervising Architect's office was moved from the Treasury Building to the Federal Warehouse Building, renamed the Procurement Building. In addition, the Office was reorganized into four divisions consisting of a Supervising Architect, a Supervising Engineer, a Chairman of the Board of Award, and a Chief of the Legal Section.

Through the 1920s, the staff of the Office of the Supervising Architect developed standardized designs and floor plans for its buildings. The Supervising Architect's office rarely hired local architects to design its buildings as it had during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This practice resumed from 1930 to 1934, when many of the Federal recovery programs were getting underway. In June 1934, the Treasury Department determined that it was not practical for private architects to handle small architectural projects. The staff of the Office of the Supervising Architect designed all of the remaining Federal buildings.

Designs for post offices built between 1932 and 1942 followed standardized plans. Some stylistic variation was permitted on the facades, but the floor plans were well established by the early 1930s. Post offices built in small towns were usually one-story, rectangular-plan buildings. Much of the building was devoted to the large, full-width work room, where much of the mail handling and sorting operations were conducted. The workroom included a vault and sometimes an area enclosed with a wire-mesh screen to secure money orders and registered mail. The rear of the building contained the mailing vestibule and mailing platform for receiving deliveries of mail. The public lobby was located across the front of the post office. It contained an entrance vestibule, post office boxes, and customer service windows. Lobbies were usually L-shaped to provide space for additional post office boxes. As the only public space in the building, the lobby was often adorned with decorative architectural elements, including marble wainscoting, terrazzo floors, and coffered ceilings and furnishings, such as lobby desks. The postmaster's office was generally located in a front corner of the building, with lobby and workroom entrances.

The U.S. Post Office in Newport, New Hampshire, is an example of a small, so-called "one-man" post office where the postmaster managed the work unaided by an assistant postmaster. Completed in 1935, the one-story, five-bay brick building features a large work room, rear mailing platform, and an L-shaped lobby. The postmaster's office is located in a front corner of the building with direct access to the L-shaped lobby and work room.

The acceptance of standardized floor plans for post offices left little room for ingenuity on the part of the architect, except for the facades. Designs generated in the Office of the Supervising Architect under Louis A. Simon demonstrated greater stylistic variety than in the previous twenty-five years. During this period, more consideration was given to local architectural traditions. In California, for example, the Spanish or Mission style became popular. The small, Mission-style post office in La Jolla, built in 1935, is an example. The Colonial Revival-style, built throughout the East, remained the most popular historical revival style for post offices, as well as other PWA building types. Middle-Atlantic examples include the two U.S. Post Offices in New Castle, Delaware, and in Easton, Maryland, both completed in 1936.

Most popular were modern designs (such as streamline moderne or Art Deco) or designs that mixed one or more historical styles with the "Starved classicism" that dominated Federal building during the 1930s. Starved classicism, sometimes called PWA Modern, was described by Historian Lois Craig as a simplified classical style characterized by symmetrical massing, smooth expanses of unadorned planar surfaces, and reduced ornamentation. The style derived from the Beaux-Arts tradition and featured inspirational names or phrases incised on the facade as an economical decorative motif.

In Georgia, the Treasury Department built approximately 65 post offices between 1932 and 1942. Most of these buildings were small, rectangular- or square-plan post offices built in small towns throughout the state. Built from standardized plans, these post offices featured essentially the same layouts and decorative schemes seen in post offices built throughout the nation during this period. The prevailing building type in Georgia was the one-story, five-bay brick building with a center entrance. The workroom occupied most of the building. The public lobby and postmaster's office were located across the main facade. Smaller rooms were placed along a side wall. The plans for each building were modified to meet the requirements of the site. Often the mailing platform was sometimes reversed or located across the rear wall. Some of the larger post office buildings featured second stories tucked beneath hip roofs.

Plans for the new U.S. Post Office in Sylvester, Georgia, were prepared by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Plans and elevations for the Sylvester post office were approved in February 1937. The set of plans included standard designs for entrance lamps, bulletin boards, lobby desks, and metal grilles and railings.

On February 1^st, 1937, the Public Buildings Branch of the Treasury Department purchased the 70-by-120-foot site at the southeast corner of Main and Kelly streets from Amanda Jane Perry for $6,000. The new site was opposite the site of the old post office, which was located in a one-story brick commercial building on the west side of Main Street. The site was cleared for construction of the post office in the Spring of 1937.

J. M. Raymond Construction Company's bid of $39,889 was selected as the lowest from among twenty-one general contractors who submitted proposals to build the post office. The contract was awarded to the Jacksonville, Florida, company on April 14^th, 1937, with the provision that the work be completed by December 14^th, 1937.

On May 20^th, 1937, Emil C. Seiz, Jr., construction engineer for the Treasury Department, was relieved of his work at post offices in Ozark, Alabama, and Cuthbert, Georgia, to direct the construction of the Sylvester post office. In June, Seiz rented a second-floor room in the Alford Building to serve as a construction office. The Alford Building is located one block south of the post office site, which may have been visible from Seiz's rented space.

Building materials were purchased from companies throughout the United States, but especially from companies in the South and in Georgia. The Bethlehem Steel Company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, supplied the approximately eight tons of structural steel for the post office. This steel was fabricated by the Aetna Iron and Steel Company plant in Jacksonville, Florida. The approximately sixteen tons of reinforcing steel was rolled and fabricated at the Atlantic Steel Company plant in Atlanta, Georgia. Native Georgia stone for the granite front steps and marble and limestone building trim was provided by the Georgia Marble Company.

Construction of the U.S. Post Office in Sylvester was completed on December 1^st, 1937, two weeks ahead of schedule. Postal workers occupied the building two weeks later on December 16^th, 1937. The final inspection report prepared by Seiz on January 15^th, 1938, indicated that "all work embraced in this contract is now completed in accordance with the drawings and specifications." The following month, Emil C. Seiz, Jr., was transferred to Middle Georgia to supervise the construction of a post office in Hawkinsville. The planting plan for the post office lot was approved in September 1938. On December 5^th, 1938, Postmaster Nellie H. Woolard reported to the Treasury Department that the contractor had completed the landscape work according to the specifications in the contract.

The completed U.S. Post Office building established a strong Federal presence in the town of Sylvester. Though small by Treasury Department standards, the Sylvester post office was among the most prominent buildings in Sylvester when it was completed in 1937. Because of its style and setting, the post office contrasted with other neighboring buildings. The post office is located adjacent to the Worth County Courthouse in the Sylvester commercial district, situated near the front and center of its large lot, which occupies one-fourth of a town block. The building features three formal facades and is surrounded by plantings that follow a 1938 planting plan. This provided a strong contrast to most buildings in the Sylvester commercial district, which are organized in long rows of adjoining storefronts, called commercial blocks. These buildings occupy virtually their entire lots and feature only one facade that is set close to the street or Sidewalk. Little, if any, space is devoted to decorative plantings. The U.S. Post Office in Sylvester may be compared to the nearby county courthouse, a substantial brick building that occupies an entire town block on Main Street.

On June 18^th, 1938, Chester J. Tingler, an artist from Coral Gables, Florida, was invited by Edward B. Rowan, Superintendent of the Section of Painting and Sculpture, to submit designs for a mural for the Sylvester, Georgia, Post Office. Rowan's offer was based on "competent designs" that Tingler had submitted in a competition for the post office in Miami, Florida. His design was not selected for the Miami post office, but it brought his work to the attention of Edward Rowan.

The submission of designs for the Sylvester post office was not competitive and paid $650 for the completed mural: $200 for the approved preliminary sketches; $200 for the approved full-size cartoon; and $250 for the completed, installed, and approved mural.

The proposed mural was to measure 11 feet by 4 feet and be completed in the public lobby above the postmaster's door. Rowan advised Tingler to select subject matter which "embodies some idea appropriate to the particular locale of Sylvester." Rowan added, "what we want most is a simple and vital design."

In July 1938, Tingler accepted the commission to paint the Sylvester post office mural. Tingler was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1886, and studied at the Art Students League. His mural in Sylvester, Georgia, is the only artwork he produced for the Section of Fine Arts.

Chester Tingler traveled to Sylvester in the summer of 1938 to visit the post office and note the location of the mural. While visiting Southwest Georgia, Tingler identified several themes for the painting. He wrote to Rowan, "The cantaloupe industry is very important and also cotton, but I think the former is a bit more unusual, so I am making studies of that as a subject." Tingler then visited the nearby Indiana Fruit Company, founded by C. H. Strangward in 1896. Strangward introduced the cantaloupe industry to Georgia. By the 1930s, cantaloupes had become one of the leading crops in Worth County, and in 1934, Lillie Grubbs, a local historian, declared Sylvester "the cantaloupe center of the world." According to Strangward's son, Charles W. Strangward, the artist watched the cantaloupe harvesting and produced sketches of a scene typical of the peak season.

The following month, Tingler sent three alternative sketches of cantaloupe industry scenes to Edward Rowan for his selection. The first sketch depicted a bountiful harvest with a central group of figures examining the fruit at different stages in its development. The background featured trains, trucks, and cars, illustrating how the cantaloupes were transported from the fields to the consumer. The second sketch included a central group of figures that represent the cantaloupe industry. Figures to the left stack fruit; three men to the right bring crated cantaloupes in from the fields and present them to the fruit checker. The background features a tractor plowing under a field that has just been harvested, a truck carrying produce to market in a distant town, and teams of mules plowing a field and pulling a cart. The third sketch depicted "more weighty groups" of figures at noonday rest to the left and right of composition. The center featured rolling fields with fruit pickers.

The second sketch was selected as the preferred design by the members of the Section of Painting and Sculpture and the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Rowan wrote, "the design is interesting in all but the lower right hand section and it is suggested that you devote more time to this part of the composition in order to balance the composition somewhat more successfully." Rowan continued, suggesting the inclusion of melons in the lower right-hand section such as Tingler had depicted in his first sketch. The artist incorporated Rowan's suggestions in the final mural design, which includes a man holding a basket of melons in the lower right quadrant of the painting.

In October 1938, Tingler produced a two-inch scale color sketch for the mural that was well received by the Section of Fine Arts. Rowan offered minor suggestions, but approved the sketch for the next phase of the design process, the production of a full-size cartoon. Tingler completed the 11-by-5-foot cartoon in January 1939. As stipulated in his contract, Tingler mailed a photograph of the mural drawing to the Section of Fine Arts for review. The artist noted that several changes were necessary when the drawing was enlarged. Tingler also wrote that "the drawing looks more stiff than the finished job will be. I never try to make my rhythms flow until I start to paint."

Rowan responded positively to the cartoon, but noted several minor details that required further attention. In addition, Rowan wrote, "don't you feel that the diagonal direction of the tree on the right makes your elliptical composition a little too obvious? It occurs to me that the architectural relationship of your design would be more harmoniously achieved if this diagonal were not overemphasized." Tingler addressed Rowan's concerns and completed the mural in less than two weeks. The mural was executed in oil paints on a pure linen canvas that was affixed to the wall above the door to the postmaster's office. On February 26^th, 1939, the artist mailed Rowan a photograph of the completed mural, stating that, "the painting quality is more pronounced than in most murals. I believe you would like the handling, it is not just a colored drawing."

The mural by Chester J. Tingler in the Sylvester post office is a significant part of the overall building program. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Treasury Department constructed post offices in Georgia and throughout the nation from standardized plans. Decorative details varied among the buildings, but often nearly identical post office buildings could be found in one state, such as Georgia. Artists commissioned by the Section of Painting and Sculpture distinguished each post office building with artwork that was often derived from the history or culture of the surrounding community. Chester Tingler's depiction of the cantaloupe industry in Southwest Georgia was both a source of community pride and a monument to Sylvester's agricultural accomplishments.

Building Description

The U.S. Post Office in Sylvester, Georgia, is a rectangular, one-story, five-bay building with Colonial Revival decorative details. The post office is located in Worth County in Southwest Georgia. The building occupies the southeast corner of Main and Kelly streets, across Main Street from the Sylvester Commercial Historic District to the east. The Worth County Courthouse is located on the northwest corner of Main and Kelly streets, opposite the post office.

The post office is set on a poured concrete foundation and framed with structural steel. The brick walls are laid in English bond. Interior walls are built of hollow terra-cotta tile. The tile was furred to receive plaster, or smooth in areas where plaster was not applied. The flat composition roof drains on the east side and features a brick parapet lined with white limestone coping.

The main facade features four large 8-over-12 sash windows with limestone lintels that match the coping on the parapet. A recessed brick panel is located below each window. The aluminum-and-glass double doors are flanked by fluted pilasters that support a dentil entablature. Six granite steps lined with wrought iron handrails ascend to the main entrance, which is flanked by two Colonial Revival-style wall-mounted lamps. Aluminum letters painted black above the entrance read: United States Post Office/Sylvester Georgia.

A white marble cornerstone on the southwest corner on the main facade reads: Henry Morganthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury; James A. Farley, Postmaster General; Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; Neal A. Melick, Supervising Engineer; 1937.

The north and south elevations feature four bays with large sash windows similar to those on the main facade. Ventilating equipment located on the exterior of the building fills the easternmost bay on the north side of the building. A blind window on the south facade forms part of the exterior wall of the vault. A narrow sash window is on each side of the blind window to provide light and ventilation for the postmaster's bathroom and the carriers' bathroom. An exterior basement entrance and a small coal window are also located along the south side of the building.

The rear elevation, like the main facade, features five bays, a center entrance flanked by four large sash windows. A small mailing vestibule and a mailing platform project twenty-five feet from the rear wall. The south side of the platform is open to receive mail from postal service vehicles. A small set of poured concrete steps provides pedestrian access to the rear entrance. The flat roof and white limestone coping of the vestibule platform echo the roof treatment of the block. A tall, exterior brick chimney is located on the west side of the building, against the north side of the mailing vestibule.

The interior plan is organized around the large work room where the mail was handled and sorted for delivery, where post office boxes were serviced, and where walk-in customer service operations were performed. Typically, mail was brought to the mailing platform by truck from the regional post office in Albany. Inside the workroom, postal workers sorted each sack of mail by carrier route. The four to six carriers at the Sylvester post office sorted their mail at stations along the north and west walls in the order it was to be delivered. The sorting stations have been removed to the temporary post office location in Sylvester. Clerks serviced several banks of post office boxes located in the northwest corner of the workroom. These boxes were also removed from the post office and reinstalled at a temporary location.

The customer service counter is located along the west side of the workroom and features three service windows to assist customers in the public lobby. Each of the bays includes a sliding decorative metal grille and a sash window. Two additional service bays were added later. Elements of the original wood cabinets survive along the entire service counter, though only the southernmost bay retains both its original wood counter and cabinets. The workroom features a dark lacquered wood floor that matches the cabinets and wainscoting. Like all rooms on the main floor, the workroom has a thirteen-foot ceiling.

The public lobby is an L-shaped room along the west side of the building that wraps around the north side to include several banks of post office boxes. The lobby is entered through a small glazed vestibule with entrance and exit doors. The ceramic-tile floor is laid in a parquet brick pattern. The wainscot is faced with pink Etowah marble. The darker lobby border and bases are finished with Georgia verde antique marble. Several decorative panels are located above the service counter bays. A cove cornice molding joins the ceiling and the wall. Lobby furnishings included in the original post office design remain in situ and include: the circular lobby desks with brass pen stands built from standard Public Building Service plans; and four wall-mounted bulletin boards with glass doors and incised subject headings, such as "Bulletins," and "United States-Civil Service." These were also built from standard designs.

A mural painted in oils on linen measuring 11 by 5 feet is located above the postmaster's office door at the south end of the public lobby. Spanning the width of the lobby, the mural depicts all aspects of the cantaloupe industry in Southwest Georgia from plowing the fields to trucking the vegetables to markets in distant cities. The central grouping of figures is shown harvesting, stacking, and counting cantaloupes brought in from the fields. The two center figures holding cantaloupe halves represent allegories of the industry (the standing man), and the consumer (the seated woman).

A series of small rooms is located along the south side of the post office. The postmaster's office is located in the southwest corner and is entered from both the workroom and the lobby. The postmaster's office includes molded window surrounds, door surrounds, chair rail, and baseboard. The postmaster's office includes a small bathroom and the entrance to the lookout gallery. Entered from a ladder and located above the vault, the lookout gallery provided postal inspectors with the ability to monitor the conduct of postal employees in the workroom Because the interior of the room was painted black and the viewing windows consisted of only three narrow bands of glass set in the ceiling against a small black field, it was impossible for employees to know they were being monitored.

The vault was used to store money, stamps, and registered mail. It consists of a concrete floor, walls, and ceiling, and is secured with large steel door, with a combination lock. A second secured area in the vault is located behind a wire mesh grille. Adjacent to the vault is the carrier's toilet, which contains many original fixtures, including the toilet, sink, soap dispenser, towel bar, and toilet paper dispenser. The carrier's toilet is entered from the swing room, a 10 by 10-foot room located in the center of the south wall. The swing room features wood floors and molded baseboards and chair rails. The janitor's closet containing a toilet and sink and the women's toilet join the east wall of the swing room. The women's toilet contains original fixtures similar to those found in the carriers' toilet. Stairs to the basement are located in the southeast corner of the building, between the women's bathroom and the east wall. Stenciled room labels survive on all of the doors except that of the postmaster's office.

The full basement is divided into five large rooms. The boiler room is entered from the workroom and features a second, exterior entrance. The large, rectangular boiler room contains its original mechanical equipment. Three storage rooms, identified as fuel (coal) storage and storage rooms nos. 1 and 2, are located adjacent to the boiler room. The fifth basement room is a large storage room that occupies the entire west of the basement.

A planting plan produced for the Sylvester post office in 1938 identifies the types of plantings and their proposed locations. Most of the lot was planted in grass. The plantings, many of which survive, included water oaks planted along the north and south property lines and clusters of tobira and cherry laurel located on both sides of the front steps and at the corners of the building. Privet was planted at the corners of the lot. Photographs of the post office taken in November 1938 indicate a row of mature water oaks along Main Street, west of the Sidewalk. These trees, which were not depicted in the planting plan, have not survived.