United States Postal Service

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The U.S. Post Office, also known as the Berkeley Main Post Office, has been described as a "free adaptation of Brunelleschi's Foundling Hospital." Designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style, the front of the building features terra cotta arches supported by plain tuscan columns. The building, located, 2000 Allston Way Berkeley, California, was built in 1914-15.The Post Office is within the Civic Center Historic District, a five block area listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district is a locally significant ensemble of harmoniously planned civic buildings that retains a high degree of integrity since achieving significance in 1950. The post office, along with the "Old" City Hall (1909) in the Beaux-Arts style, is among the earliest and the most decorative of the thirteen buildings in the district.The architect is unknown but Oscar Wenderoth is listed on the cornerstone as he was director of the Office of the Supervising Architect that designed this and many other federal government buildings. The floor space doubled with the completion of the annex in 1932. A few years later, the Treasury Relief Art Project commissioned a sculpture and a mural for the lobby. Both are well-preserved examples of the styles, subjects and dominant themes of New Deal Art. The post office was designated Berkeley Landmark No. 38 on June 16, 1980 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 1981.