National Register Listing

US Post Office and Federal Building

a.k.a. Federal Building

500 Austin Ave., Port Arthur, TX

<p>Constructed in 1911 for the U.S. Government, the three-story structure stands as a reminder of Port Arthur's early development and prosperity. At the time of construction it was an impressively ornamented building identifying Port Arthur as a major shipping and business center of the Gulf of Mexico. The building is a significant and outstand- ing example of the Neo-Classical Revival style that dominated Federal structures erected during the early 1900s. Architect James Knox Taylor had a tremendous influence in im- proving the character and design of the buildings erected by the Treasury Department, including the present structure, which has served as a civil defense shelter through both wars and during natural disasters. The old U.S. Post Office and Federal Building has been of regional significance for over 70 years.</p><p>Port Arthur's first mail was brought to the new town in 1896 by wagon from the general delivery department of the Beaumont Post Office, and was distributed from a small frame building on the northeast corner of Houston Avenue and Proctor Street. Later, the dis- tribution point was moved to the southeast corner of Proctor Street and Fort Worth Avenue. The post office remained at this location until the first unit of the present structure was built. Beginning in 1912, the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building housed the government's Postal, Customs, Immigration, Quarantine, Agriculture, Public Health, and Recruiting services, as well as the Port Arthur office of the U.S. Weather Bureau.</p><p>In 1907, Mr. Gates C. Bartholdt, head of the Public Building Committee in Washington, D.C., recognizing Port Arthur as a significant seaport, was instrumental in obtaining an unusually large appropriation of $200,000 to build the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building in that city. In 1909, Port Arthur ranked twelfth among U.S. ports, second only to Galveston in Texas. Upon completion in 1912, the building was a magnificent ornamental structure identifying Port Arthur as a major shipping and business center on the Gulf of Mexico.</p><p>The Treasury Department in Washington requested Postmaster Dodge to secure offers for a suitable site. Dodge acquired a property at Fifth and Austin, and the first contract for construction was let in 1910, with the work done by Tom Lovell &amp; Sons, Denton, Texas. The new post office building was designed by the Treasury Department and the supervising architect was James Knox Taylor, a native of Knoxville, Illinois.</p><p>James Knox Taylor was appointed Supervising Architect in 1897, in a civil service competition held after the Chicago Exposition. He served for 15 years with distin- guished performance, and the improvements caused by his coming were most striking. Under his influence, the character and design of the buildings financed by the Treasury Department improved tremendously, and Taylor became known as "The National Architect." The erection of a large number of buildings which compared favorably with buildings of the same class abroad was very satisfying for the United States Government.</p><p>On December 28, 1935, bids were let for a $175,000 addition, with L.A. Simon of Washington as supervising architect. Contract for construction was again awarded to Tom Lovell &amp; Sons, Denton, Texas, and the matching part of the addition was completed in November of 1937. The new space was needed to provide increased governmental ser- vices due to tremendous growth of the area, completion of the intercoastal canal and growth of the ship-building industry. The new addition also included office and living quarters for the U.S. Coast Guard.</p><p>The building was designed a civil defense shelter and has served as such through World War II and during natural disasters. During the 1915 hurricane, the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building sheltered for 30 hours more than 100 residence who fled there for protection, withstanding a 75-mile-an-hour wind and water that washed over the front steps. During this storm Mrs. J.W. Wright, one of the refugees, gave birth to a seven-pound son, whereupon her husband declared that since the structure had saved all their lives, the child should bear the name "Federal Building Wright."</p><p>The architecture of the post office is of considerable note locally. The build- ing has the Neo-Classical Revival feeling which tends to predominate in Federal struc- tures erected during the early 1900s, but of all such buildings in the area, most have either been demolished or totally renovated.</p>

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.