The Open Air Post Office: Saint Petersburg, Florida

The Open Air Post Office in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida has been a local landmark since it was dedicated in 1916. This short article is the result of a phone call from Will Cochrane to the author in which he wondered if the post office was ever segregated based upon a post card in his collection, Figure 1. Based upon a few phone calls to long time residents, I conclude that there was no segregation at the post offices.

Fig 1. Postcard 1936. Open Air Post Office, Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Fig 2. Postcard 1936. Open Air Post Office, Saint Petersburg, Florida. Alternate view.

But first a bit of information on the Open Air Post Office taken directly from the City of St. Petersburgs web site.

The Open Air post Office is an important Mediterranean Revival building that marks the transition from the citys early Mission period to the rise of the Beaux Arts historicism that would make its mark in the 1920s. The post office has served St. Petersburg since it was dedicated in 1916 and has become a landmark for residents and visitors alike. It was listed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1975.

The original plans prepared by the government architect in the early 1900s called for a grand building set well above the sidewalk level with many steps leading up to it. Unsatisfied with these plans, the local postmaster, Roy Hanna, submitted his own design which envisioned a street level post office without any steps and open on all sides allowing patrons access to their boxes at any hour. The design of the post office was inspired by one of the icons of the early Italian Renaissance in Florence, Italy, the Ospedale degli Innocenti (1424) by Filippo Brunelleschi and contains many ornaments of terra cotta based upon Renaissance designs. Figure 3 shows the post office in the early 1920s.

Fig 3. White Border Card, circa 1925, published by J. Heath & Son Co., St. Petersburg, Fla. Note that the two archways at the far left are open. Background buildings have been removed by air brushing. Scene is probably during the winter since some of the gents are wearing top coats.

The design of the building called for a logia open on three sides to give the public access to offices and postal boxes at all times. The facades which face 4th Street and First Avenue North consist of highly ornamental arches, terra cotta piers, column caps, marble columns, granite plinths, stucco spandrils, and terra cotta discs. The frieze is glazed terra cotta and the roof is covered in red Spanish tiles. Figure 4 shows some of the elegant details.

Fig 4. White border card, circa 1930, printed by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wisc. Note the elaborate tile and terra cotta details. Note that the colonnade at right is open all the way. Postal boxes line both interior walls.

In 1969, the south wall and south one-third of the east wall were enclosed to allow for indoor service counters, air conditioning and heating, and additional postal boxes. Figure 5 shows two arches that were enclosed and illustrates how the post office appears today. The post office at one time had a nice philatelic window with its own special cancel, but like most philatelic windows in the U.S., it was closed some ten years ago as a cost cutting measure.