James Farley Post Office
| U.S. General Post Office | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Register of Historic Places) | |
 A carefully-detailed Corinthian colonnade under the inspirational
inscription
|
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| Location: | Manhattan, New York City, New York  United States |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built/Founded: | 1912 |
| Architect: | McKim, Mead, and White |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux-Arts |
| Added to NRHP: | January 29, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73002257[1] |
The James A. Farley Building, New York City's General Post Office, is located at 421 Eighth Avenue, between 31st Street and 33rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. The Post Office is officially named "The James A. Farley Building" and consists of the old general post office building and its western annex. The Farley building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and occupies two full city blocks, an eight-acre footprint straddling the tracks of the Northeast Corridor (Farley Corridor) in western Midtown Manhattan. The building was designated in 1982 as a monument to the political career of former Postmaster General James Farley.
The Farley Post Office holds the distinction of being the only Post Office in New York City that is open to the public 24 hours and 7 days a week -- with the exception of certain holidays.
The James A. Farley Building in New York boasts the longest giant order Corinthian colonnade in the world.
History
The James A. Farley Building was constructed in two stages. The original monumental front half was built in 1912 and opened for postal business in 1914; the building was doubled in 1934 by James A.Farley as Postmaster General, replacing the 1878 Post Office at Park Row and Broadway. Where it backs up to Ninth Avenue: along the side streets, McKim, Mead, and White's range, which continues its Corinthian giant order as pilasters between the window bays, was simply repeated in order to carry the facade to Ninth Avenue. Farley, as Postmaster General, oversaw the hiring of McKim, Mead, and White to construct the "Farley Annex", as not to disturb the continuity of the original monumental architecture of the structure. This practice of the federal government hiring private firms to provide the architecture of the country's post offices was put to a halt in 1934, a decision that was repealed in 1939.
The monumental façade on Eighth Avenue was conceived as a Corinthian colonnade braced at the end by two pavilions. The imposing design was meant to match in strength the colonnade of Pennsylvania Station (McKim, Mead, and White, 1910) that originally faced it across the avenue. An unbroken flight of steps the full length of the colonnade provides access, for the main floor devoted to customer services is above a functional basement level that rises out of a dry moat giving light and air to workspaces below. Each of the square end pavilions is capped with a low saucer dome, expressed on the exterior as a low stepped pyramid. Inside, the visitor finds an unbroken vista down a long gallery that parallels the colonnaded front.
The building prominently bears the inscription: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, which is frequently mistaken as an official motto of the United States Postal Service. It was actually supplied by William Mitchell Kendall of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, the architects who designed the Farley Building and the original Pennsylvania Station in the same Beaux-Arts style. The sentence is a paraphrase of an excerpt from the works of Herodotus (Wikiquote) and describes the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus the Great, about 500 BCE. The Persians operated a system of mounted postal couriers, and the sentence describes the fidelity with which their work was done. The USPS does not actually have an official motto or creed, but nonetheless the inscription on the building is universally recognized as such.
Upon opening in 1914 it was named the Pennsylvania Terminal. In July 1918, the building was renamed the General Post Office Building, and in 1982, renamed once more as the James A. Farley Building.( 97th Congress, H.Res. 368 3/2/1982). James Farley was the nation's 53rd Postmaster General and served from 1933 to 1940. Farley (a native New Yorker) was instrumental in the political careers of Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt (serving as campaign manager to both). James A. Farley was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1940 (only the second Roman Catholic to receive delegates towards such a nomination behind Alfred E. Smith and before John F. Kennedy) and publicly stood against a presidential third term. Farley is also considered the finest Athletic Commissioner/Boxing Commissioner in New York State history. The James A. Farley award is given by the Boxing Writers Association for honesty and integrity in the sport of boxing. James A. Farley is the first nationally successful (Roman Catholic) Irish American politician. James A. Farley was honored in 2007 as one of the Archdiocese of New York Bicentennial people in commemoration of the Archdiocese 200th anniversary.
- "...the life of James A. Farley should serve as an example for present and future generations of Americans of the vital contributions which individual citizens can make to the life of the nation through diligent public service..."
House Resolution 368, 97th Congress, 2nd Session, March 2 1982
The Farley Building was instrumental to maintaining service levels in the New York City area following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when it served as a back up to operations for the Church Street Station Post Office located across the street from the World Trade Center complex. Advances in automated mail processing technology, coupled with adjustments to postal distribution and transportation networks now make it feasible to absorb associated mail volumes at the Morgan Center.
Future plans
The Farley Building is planned to be used as a new entrance and concourse for Penn Station by the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. Beyond retail lobby services, other postal operations remaining in the building will include Express Mail, mail delivery, truck platforms, and a stamp depository. Administrative offices for the Postal Service's New York District will also be headquartered within Farley.
All mail processing operations will be relocated one block away to the Morgan Processing and Distribution Center. All other administrative functions now in the Farley Building will be moved to the Church Street Processing and Distribution Center in Manhattan. Approximately 2,500 postal employees worked in the Farley Building as of 2002. Once operations and administrative offices are moved, approximately 900 employees will remain in their current location.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said "Throughout his career, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has always recognized that transportation infrastructure was the key to New York remaining the capital of the world. And he knew it meant more than just bricks and mortar, it meant grand architecture that inspires our citizens and enobles our City. And nowhere was Pat Moynihan more wise than on the subject of Penn Station, once the most grand and beautiful of public works, now little more than a squalid basement. The new Farley Station will be a magnificent addition to our City. It is a great day for New York and we owe our thanks to Pat Moynihan's tireless efforts."
When Moynihan Station opens, Amtrak and NJ Transit passengers will be able to board and exit trains from either The Farley Post Office or the previously existing part of Penn Station which will include a newly designed station over the existing site of Madison Square Garden.
In additions, plans are being drawn up for a new version of Madison Square Garden in Farley's western Annex. James A. Farley was
athletic Commissioner of New York State from 1923-1933. The new Garden which would share space within the Historic Farley
Building would replace the current Garden located a half-block away. The current proposals call for the state to purchase the
historic Farley Complex, building Madison Square Garden within the Farley Annex while constructing a mixed use post
office/entrance to Moynihan Station within the historic Farley Post
Office. [2]
Handicapped access
Handicapped access is extremely poor in the current building. Patrons who require access to the building must call to request access, wait on hold, then ask for someone to let them in the back of the building or locate a police officer on the perimeter of the large block, and ask the police officer to contact someone inside the post office building to help them.
See also
References
- ^ National Register of Historical Places - New York (NY), New York County. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-02-14).
- ^ Newpennstation.org
External links
- Newpennstation.org
- Farley Post Office/MSG Model
- USPS James A. Farley Bio.
- Farley building architecture
- Madison Square Garden plans
- New York City Weekly Yelp review of Farley station
- Bill designating General Post Office the "James A. Farley Building"
- Maps and aerial photos for Coordinates:
- Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
- Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA[[Category:Registered Historic Places in New York}}
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