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U.S. Post Office and Courthouse

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1932, James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury, and J. Bryant Heard. 700 Main St.

This monumental limestone-faced building is in the severe classical style favored for public buildings in the early years of the Great Depression. Shallow fluted piers elaborate the facade, along with medallions containing bas-reliefs of eagles, and the windows are metal-framed. The rectangular lobby retains much of its original finishes, including banks of metal mailboxes. Here a local architect collaborated with the federal architect, the result of successful lobbying by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) during the Great Depression to give employment to local practitioners.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee
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Citation

Anne Carter Lee, "U.S. Post Office and Courthouse", [Danville, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-PI40.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Virginia vol 2

Buildings of Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside, and Southwest, Anne Carter Lee and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, 372-372.

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