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HISTORIC POST OFFICES THREATENED |
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The Threat
Los Angeles-area post offices are increasingly under scrutiny and facing possible closure and sale. With an annual operating deficit of more than $8.5 billion, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is calling for the closure of nearly ten percent of its 32,000 post office facilities nationwide. This translates to more than a hundred sites in California—around thirty in Los Angeles County, a number of which are in historic buildings. A prime example is the 1939 Venice Post Office at 1601 Main Street, slated for closure with the building to be sold, despite community protests and ongoing direct appeals to the USPS. Louis A. Simon designed the facility as part of the New Deal. Modernist artist Edward Biberman created a mural for the lobby that depicts the early history of Venice, including city founder Abbot Kinney surrounded by the canals he built and a wooden roller coaster representing the Venice Pier that once drew thousands to the seaside community.
The USPS received formal appeals from the Venice Stakeholders Association, the Venice Neighborhood Council, the Conservancy, and others. Congresswoman Janice Hahn urged the USPS “to grant the appeal and engage the Venice community in finding another solution to the ramifications of the decline in the use of postal services.” Despite these pleas, the USPS concluded in late September that it had no basis to set aside its original decision to move its operations to a nearby annex. A subsequent appeal was filed in October and is currently pending with the Postal Rate Commission. Until a decision is made no further action of the Venice Post Office is expected to proceed. The city of South Gate’s 1938 post office at 3270 Firestone Boulevard is also under consideration for closure. Residents and elected officials in both of these communities and elsewhere are concerned about the loss of these important community anchors, as many post offices serve unofficial roles as community centers and places to catch up with neighbors.
Fortunately, many examples exist of historic post office structures successfully adapted for new uses in ways that maintain their historic character and integrity. One of many examples is the Washington, Missouri post office. Yet a unique challenge for some of these buildings—including the Venice Post Office—lies in the interior murals or sculptures commissioned for post offices as part of the New Deal. Between 1934 and 1943, approximately eight hundred (nearly a third) of historic USPS buildings were adorned with such artwork. The federally funded arts initiative responded to the Great Depression by creating jobs and boosting morale. Even if USPS sells a building, it will still own the artwork inside it and must provide reasonable public access. If the USPS cannot negotiate an agreement with the new owner regarding the artwork, the USPS must remove and reinstall it elsewhere. The Conservancy and others anticipate that this is only the first wave of closures, with more historic post offices targeted in the near future. We strongly encourage communities to stand up for their historic post offices, and we stand ready to help.
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Wilshire May Company This Streamline Moderne department store with its prominent cylindrical gold tower signals the western entrance of Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile district. The Conservancy swung into action when the May Co. building was threatened with demolition for office towers and a hotel during the early 1990s. After successfully nominating the building for City Historic-Cultural Monument status, the Conservancy worked with County officials to ensure the building's reuse by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Now LACMA West, the May Co. had a splashy reopening in 1999 when it played host to a blockbuster Van Gogh exhibit. Photo courtesy of Julius Shulman |
