New York’s Post Office
New York’s post office is certainly photo-worthy. It stands with might on Eighth Avenue and its columns span two blocks, from 31st Street to 33rd Street. It was completed in 1913 and stood opposite the original Pennsylvania Station, the city’s formerly regal train station.
Penn Station was torn down in the early 1960s to make way for Madison Square Garden and a couple generic skyscrapers. The architectural loss for the city was incalculable, but from this nefarious act came the landmark preservation movement and historic districts.
The city's main post office is an impressive building. It complimented the magnificent, old Penn Station, which was located across the street and was torn down in the 1960s.
The post office remains, an echo of 34th Street’s opulent past.
We happened upon the mighty structure right in the blue hour, and the blue of the sky with the orange of the sodium vapor streetlights is a pleasing contrast.
The steps to the main post office, and the interior's ceiling.
The post office's motto is scrawled atop the Corinthian columns.
The nearby New Yorker Building was in eyeshot, so I’m slipping a photo of it in here too. Decided to go black and white to de-emphasize the bright red letters of the sign.
The New Yorker Building at dusk, taken on 34th Street and 9th Avenue.