U.S. Postal Service Main Office 

1623 Dalton Street, West End

James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect

Samuel Hannaford & Sons, Consulting Architects

1932-1933

Beginning in 1930, the federal supervising architect’s office began to hire private architects for some of their larger projects. Such was the case with the post office’s Dalton Street Annex. The Dalton Street post office is “an excellent example of Depression Modern, with its smooth sandstone walls punctuated by elongated recessed openings creating the effect of a colonnade on the long façade…. Pylon-shaped light standards and bas reliefs of American eagles dramatize the doorways. Other decorative elements include bronze doors and grilles, marble floors and wainscoting, and elaborate Moderne light fixtures” (Sue Ann Painter, Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City [Ohio University Press, in association with  the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati, 2006], p. 201). 

In the 1980s, the building became the city’s main post office and all administrative offices were moved here. In 2018, the building underwent a much-needed restoration, including repairs to the Berea sandstone façade and replication of the original steel windows in aluminum. 

Click on thumbnail to see full frame gallery with captions.