National Register Listing

US Post Office-Basin Main

402 W. C St., Basin, WY

The Basin Post Office is a well-preserved example of Neo-Classical design and, except for the removal of the original entry portico, is unaltered. Although the building is small and relatively simple in design, it manifests a character of stateliness in its classic proportions and crisp facade detailing. The articulation of the central entry section and detailing of the arched central bay further reinforce this character. The building's floor plan, with its centrally located square lobby, is only one of two such examples of this layout in the west. The square upon which the building is sited was planned by the community as its civic core and also contains the Basin County Courthouse (1918) and City Library that replaced the original Carnegie Library on the same site. Finally, the building was the city's first and only federally constructed post office and, as such, was a major civic event. Construction of the post office took place during the city's most significant period of growth and is the legacy of an era from which expectations of future growth were never realized.

Local significance of the building:
Community Planning And Development; Politics/government; Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.