Old Post Office (Buffalo, New York)

The Old Post Office, also known as U.S. Post Office, is a historic post office building located at 121 Ellicott Street in Buffalo in Erie County, New York within the Joseph Ellicott Historic District. It is currently home to the City Campus of SUNY Erie.

U.S. Post Office
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The building in 2022
Interactive map showing the location of the Old Post Office in Buffalo
Location	121 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, New York[1]
Coordinates	42°52′53″N 78°52′22″W
Built	1897
Architect	Taylor, James Knox
Architectural style	Gothic
NRHP reference No.	72000839[2]
Added to NRHP	March 16, 1972

History

It was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the old U.S. Post Office Department during the tenure of Jeremiah O'Rourke when construction started in 1897. The $1.5 million building opened in 1901 during the tenure of James Knox Taylor and operated as Buffalo's central post office until 1963.

The highly ornamented Gothic Revival style four-story building features a 244-foot tower over the central entrance. This tower is 244 feet (74 m) tall.^[1][3] The main feature of the interior is a roofed courtyard. It was subsequently occupied by various federal offices.^[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1972 as "U.S. Post Office".^[2]

Since 1981, it has been home to the City Campus of SUNY Erie. Burt Flickinger Center is across the street and provides athletic facilities for the college.

Gallery

• 
  West (main) entrance
• 
  South entrance
• 
  Tower
• 
  Ornamentation
• 
  C. 1900-1906

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Buffalo, New York

References

1. "Old Post Office". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
3. "Old Post Office". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01. Note: This includes T. Robins Brown (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: U.S. Post Office" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-01. and Accompanying three photographs

External links

• U.S. Post Office - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-5605, "U.S. Post Office, 121 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, Erie County, NY", 18 photos, 8 data pages
• Erie Community College :: ECC Home

Preceded by Guaranty Building	Tallest building in Buffalo 1901–1912 74m	Succeeded by Electric Tower