U.S. Post Office (Ballston Spa, New York)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Post Office in Ballston Spa
, New York, is located on Front Street in the village's commercial center. It is a brick building constructed in the mid-1930s, serving the 12020 ZIP Code
, which covers the village and the surrounding areas of the Town of Ballston
.
Designed by Louis Simon, supervising architect of the Treasury Department
, it uses an extremely restrained version of the Colonial Revival
architectural style
common on most post offices in small towns from that period. Only one other post office in New York is similar to it. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
/67
), Ballston Spa's main street. It is raised slightly above street grade and set back
slightly, with some shrubbery in the front. Two large maple trees are at the corners. Across both Front and Milton are two- and three-story commercial buildings. On its west is a driveway leading to the loading dock
in back.
It is a one-story, five-by-seven-bay
steel frame
structure on a raised foundation
with a vertical brick watercourse. A wing with the loading dock extends to the west from the rear. The brick is laid in common bond
rising to a flat roof and parapet
with stone coping
.
The north (front) facade
is centered around the round-arched main entrance, with modern aluminum and glass doors framed by a carved wooden fanlight
surmounted by a vertical brick archivolt
and keystone
. "BALLSTON SPA N.Y. 12020-9998" is written in black lettering above the door. The windows on the front and lobby sections (the front three bays) on the sides have splayed brick lintels, keystones and stone sills. A stone course
goes around the building above the top of the entrance archivolt. "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK 12020" is spelled out in bronze lettering above the course.
Two sets of stairs lead up from the sidewalk to a curved walk with the main entrance steps in the center. They are stone with iron railings. At the top a wheelchair ramp
comes in from the west. The entrance is flanked by two original bracketed
lanterns.
The door opens onto a glazed metal vestibule
with glazed wooden doors leading into the lobby, which has been altered since the post office was built from an L shape to strictly rectangular. It is floored in ceramic tile and has a coved plaster ceiling. An original wooden dado
remains on the east and north walls. Wooden framing remains on the bulletin board
s and the entrance to the postmaster
's office has a wood surround with denticulated cornice
.
as a village in 1807, Ballston Spa's post office was located in several different buildings, including at one point the Sans Souci opera house
almost across the street from the present location. Eventually, given its role as the Saratoga
county seat
, pressure grew for a permanent, dedicated postal facility in the village.
Congress did not authorize one for Ballston Spa until 1931, as part of an early relief program at the outset of the Great Depression
. Since it was necessary to acquire the land, on which four buildings stood, it took until 1935 before it was built by a New York City
-based general contractor
within Congress's $85,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) limit and opened.
Treasury Department Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon was in charge of the design. Like many post offices in small towns built during that period, it was a brick Colonial Revival
building, following Treasury policy. Simon's design is an unusually restrained version of that style, with minimal use of its decorative features, compared to other contemporary New York state post offices such as the one in Scotia. Only one other Simon-designed post office from that era, the one in Ilion
, shows similar restraint, down to the flat roof.
The interior was later altered slightly, with the L-shaped lobby converted into a merely rectangular one and the dado removed from two of the walls. The teller windows were replaced with modern ones and aluminum lockboxes added. Other than that there have been no significant additions to the building.
Ballston Spa, New York
Ballston Spa is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,556 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Saratoga County. The village is named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler. The village lies on the border of two...
, New York, is located on Front Street in the village's commercial center. It is a brick building constructed in the mid-1930s, serving the 12020 ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, which covers the village and the surrounding areas of the Town of Ballston
Ballston, New York
Ballston is a town in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 8,729 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from an early settler, Eliphalet Ball.The Town of Ballston is in the south part of the County and is north of Schenectady....
.
Designed by Louis Simon, supervising architect of the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
, it uses an extremely restrained version of the Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
common on most post offices in small towns from that period. Only one other post office in New York is similar to it. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Building
The post office is located on the south side of Front Street at the corner of Milton Avenue (NY 50New York State Route 50
New York State Route 50 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in Scotia...
/67
New York State Route 67
New York State Route 67 is an east–west state highway in eastern New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in the town of St. Johnsville...
), Ballston Spa's main street. It is raised slightly above street grade and set back
Setback (land use)
In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...
slightly, with some shrubbery in the front. Two large maple trees are at the corners. Across both Front and Milton are two- and three-story commercial buildings. On its west is a driveway leading to the loading dock
Loading dock
A loading dock is a recessed bay in a building or facility where trucks are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings, and warehouses in particular....
in back.
It is a one-story, five-by-seven-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
structure on a raised foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
with a vertical brick watercourse. A wing with the loading dock extends to the west from the rear. The brick is laid in common bond
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
rising to a flat roof and parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with stone coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
.
The north (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is centered around the round-arched main entrance, with modern aluminum and glass doors framed by a carved wooden fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
surmounted by a vertical brick archivolt
Archivolt
An archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
and keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
. "BALLSTON SPA N.Y. 12020-9998" is written in black lettering above the door. The windows on the front and lobby sections (the front three bays) on the sides have splayed brick lintels, keystones and stone sills. A stone course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
goes around the building above the top of the entrance archivolt. "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK 12020" is spelled out in bronze lettering above the course.
Two sets of stairs lead up from the sidewalk to a curved walk with the main entrance steps in the center. They are stone with iron railings. At the top a wheelchair ramp
Wheelchair ramp
A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building....
comes in from the west. The entrance is flanked by two original bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
lanterns.
The door opens onto a glazed metal vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
with glazed wooden doors leading into the lobby, which has been altered since the post office was built from an L shape to strictly rectangular. It is floored in ceramic tile and has a coved plaster ceiling. An original wooden dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
remains on the east and north walls. Wooden framing remains on the bulletin board
Bulletin board
A bulletin board is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise things to buy or sell, announce events, or provide information...
s and the entrance to the postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
's office has a wood surround with denticulated cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
.
History
Following its incorporationMunicipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
as a village in 1807, Ballston Spa's post office was located in several different buildings, including at one point the Sans Souci opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
almost across the street from the present location. Eventually, given its role as the Saratoga
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, pressure grew for a permanent, dedicated postal facility in the village.
Congress did not authorize one for Ballston Spa until 1931, as part of an early relief program at the outset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Since it was necessary to acquire the land, on which four buildings stood, it took until 1935 before it was built by a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
within Congress's $85,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) limit and opened.
Treasury Department Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon was in charge of the design. Like many post offices in small towns built during that period, it was a brick Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
building, following Treasury policy. Simon's design is an unusually restrained version of that style, with minimal use of its decorative features, compared to other contemporary New York state post offices such as the one in Scotia. Only one other Simon-designed post office from that era, the one in Ilion
U.S. Post Office (Ilion, New York)
US Post Office-Ilion is a historic post office building located at Ilion in Herkimer County, New York, United States. It was built in 1935-1936, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, Louis A. Simon...
, shows similar restraint, down to the flat roof.
The interior was later altered slightly, with the L-shaped lobby converted into a merely rectangular one and the dado removed from two of the walls. The teller windows were replaced with modern ones and aluminum lockboxes added. Other than that there have been no significant additions to the building.