Pekin Federal Building

The Old Post Office, also known as the former Pekin Federal Building, is a historic building in Pekin, Illinois. Built in 1906, the building held Pekin's U.S. government offices; the first floor served as the city's main post office, while the second floor held various offices, including a Department of the Treasury office and an Army recruitment office. Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor designed the building in the Renaissance Revival style, in keeping with the tradition of using classical styles for federal buildings. The building's design features a red brick exterior with a limestone base and quoins; fanlights and keystones above the first-floor windows; and a limestone cornice with a parapet wall and a cartouche above the main entrance.^[2]

Old Post Office
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
View from east, 2011
Location in Tazewell County
Location	334 Elizabeth St. Pekin, Illinois
Coordinates	40°34′8″N 89°38′55″W
Area	0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built	1906 (1906)
Built by	V. Jobst & Sons, of Peoria
Architect	James Knox Taylor
Addition architect	J.A. Wetmore
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival[citation needed]
NRHP reference No.	80001412[1]
Added to NRHP	October 9, 1980

The Post Office moved out in 1966 and the building was sold to private owners in 1967. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1980.^[1]

Eventually the building was bought by the Tazewell County government. County board meetings were held in the building for a time. Several county offices still operate in the building.^[3] The east side of the building's addition settled unevenly, developing a large crack between the addition and original structure in 2016; due to the historic static of the building, the county immediately asked for bids to shore up the east side.^[4]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Kenyon, Leslie H. (March 26, 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Pekin Federal Building" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
3. "The story of Pekin's post offices". Pekin Daily Times (online ed.). Pekin, Illinois: GateHouse Media. February 7, 2014. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
4. Harris, Sharon Woods (August 30, 2016). "Old Post Office Building in downtown Pekin needs repairs". Pekin Daily Times (online ed.). Pekin, Illinois: GateHouse Media. Retrieved 2017-09-30.