Baton Rouge architect Manson designed this three-story concrete Moderne building with retail stores on the first floor and professional offices above. A projecting concrete canopy above the storefronts flows around the corner and, along with ribbon windows, leads the eye horizontally to the primary office entrance on Church Street, which is outlined in black Vitrolite.
Nearby, the Beaux-Arts classical U.S. Post Office (1931) at 815 Main was one of four in the state built under the 1926 Public Building Act. Designed by Gulfport architects Shourds and Bean, the compact limestone-clad building attains monumental scale through its tetrastyle Doric portico, balustraded entablature, pilasters defining the tripartite facade, and a wide stair flanked by light posts.