Property Record
84 RACINE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | U.S. Post Office-Menasha |
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| Other Name: | U.S. Post Office |
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| Reference Number: | 60917 |
| Location (Address): | 84 RACINE ST |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Menasha |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1931 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20092015 |
| Historic Use: | post office |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | US Post Office--Menasha |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 8/22/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. #590. Stone quoins, Keystones, round arch windows. The first post office in Menasha was established in 1849. Over the years it occupied many rental locations including the Masonic Block (165 Main Street, Upper Main Street Historic District, NRHP 1984) and the Clovis Block (219 Main Street, Upper Main Street Historic District, NRHP 1984). After 1900 obtaining a permanent post office building it became one of the leading political issues concerning Menasha citizens. Fired by the 1916 construction of a new post office in Neenah, efforts began in earnest after the Menasha Post Office was upgraded to first class in 1923. Federal funds were finally approved in 1931 and the building completed in 1933.(A) The United States Post Office is of local historical significance as one of the oldest 20th century post offices still functioning in the Fox River Valley. The United States Post Office is located in the industrial city of Menasha, at the northern end of the central business district. Situated lengthwise across one block of Racine Street between Broad and First Streets, the Post Office is a two-story government building of Colonial Period design. The plan configuration is rectangular and the roof form is both Mansard and flat. The visible roofing materials are slate, the walls are red brick with an American bond, and the foundations are concrete. The fenestration is formally balanced from the pedimented dormers to the stilted-arch windows of the front facade, except for a well-integrated addition on the north. On the original building and street facades of the addition the windows have double-hung, multi-paned sash; on the north and west facades the frames are aluminum. Decorative features include a brick parapet around the mansard roof, Colonial Revival lanterns, and mankato stone cornice, keystones, quoins, aprons, and tablet inscribed UNITED STATES POST OFFICE. The entryway, also of mankato stone, consists of pilasters and entablature, supporting a swan's neck pediment. The interior is typical of post offices of that era. A glazed vestibule provides access to a lobby with mankato stone wainscotting, verigated tile floor, wrought iron cages, and coffered beam ceiling. Some original bronze furnishings also remain in place. Behind the cages the Post Office is a modern, functioning facility, the additions distinguished by the transition from wood to brick wainscotting. The United States Post Office is of local architectural significance as a fine example of Colonial Period design as applied to commercial use. The Menasha Post Office is architecturally significant as a sophisticated example of Period Colonial Revival design. Comparable masonry buildings include the George Banta estate "Riverlea" (836 Keyes Street), the Gilbert Paper Company Offices (430 Ahnaip Street), the Memorial Building (640 Keyes Street) and Menasha High School (420 Seventh Street). Period Colonial revival residences can also be found on Lake Road and around Smith Park, but these are mostly frame construction. The Menasha Post Office is distinguished by the unexpected combination of Colonial decorative features with a Mansard roof and contemporary massing. The sophistication of this interpretive design is not duplicated elsewhere in the city. The Menasha Post Office was produced during the term of Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore, and retains the general characteristics of a Class C Federal Building for a first class post office (ie. brick facing, stone trim, and marble interior finish). Those characteristics similar to other postal facilities from this period are consistant with the policy of the Supervising Architect to duplicate design and floor plans whenever possible. Authorized in 1931, the Menasha Post Office predates WPA construction.(B) 2009--Since last surveyed in 1984, no exterior changes have been made. 2015 - No visible changes. |
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| Bibliographic References: | #690. (A) Supplement to Menasha Record; July 8, 1933. (B) Ibid. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |