Post Office Historic District

Development in the commercial area at the intersection of West Commerce Street and Fort Dale Street began during the early 1890s. Prior to that time, there had not been any commercial development on the corner and only two small commercial buildings along with a dwelling located on the south side of Commerce Street.

By 1893 a series of five contiguous brick commercial buildings had been constructed at the north side of the intersection. These buildings contained the post office, on the corner, a book and stationery shop, a millinery shop, a photo gallery, and a grocery store occupying the other buildings. During the late 1890s, the newly established Bank of Greenville occupied a building in the block, but the block remained basically unchanged. On the south side of Commerce Street, the dwelling house was converted into the Elbert Hotel.
After the turn of the century, the post office moved from the building on the corner and the First National Bank of Greenville occupied the vacated building. By 1909 two new brick buildings had been added to the west end of the five existing buildings and were occupied by a millinery shop, the Greenville Telephone Exchange, and a photographic shop.

During the years immediately prior to World War I the commercial area underwent a series of renovations with the two buildings located between the banks receiving new storefronts with plate glass display windows. During the 1920s the Elbert Hotel was demolished and replaced by a small service station. Also during the 1920s the Bank of Greenville and the First National Bank were renovated and expanded into commercial buildings that were adjacent to each. The renovation of the First National Bank was designed by Okel & Cooper Architects of Montgomery and was undertaken by Hugger Brothers also of Montgomery and was completed in September 1923. The renovation of the Bank of Greenville was also designed by Okel & Cooper and was constructed by Hugger Brothers in 1926.

During the 1930s the district received its last major additions, the Federal Post Office on the Northeast corner of the intersection of Fort Dale and Commerce Streets and the Ritz Theater and associated commercial buildings on the south side of Commerce Street.

The Post Office building, designed by James Wetmore, was completed in 1932. A bill had been introduced to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1916 by Congressman A. A. Wiley specifying the appropriation of $25,000 for the purchase of a suitable site for a federal building. The lot on which the Post Office now stands was purchased by the Federal Government in 1916 for $5,000 from Antony and Isabella McKellar. The lot was occupied for several years by the "Red Cross Hut" and later by a community house until the work on the post office began in 1931.

The Ritz Theater was opened in 1936 and was constructed in the Art Deco style. The theater cost approximately $40,000 and contained the latest sound equipment and seating facilities.