Designated September 14, 1976.
Interior designated December 17, 2013.
The Bronx General Post Office Building and its notable interior lobby were planned and constructed between 1934-37. The architectural design was executed by Thomas Harlan Ellett. The space contains a series of 13 mural panels created by noted artists Ben Shahn and Bernarda Bryson.
In the early 20th century—as the Bronx was becoming one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the country—it became apparent that the borough needed improved postal facilities. Efforts to secure a proper headquarters began as early as 1902, but it was only during the depths of the Great Depression and the advent of New Deal public works programs that the Bronx General Post
Office was finally completed. Funding came from the Public Works Administration and the architectural design was overseen by the Federal government’s Office of the Supervising Architect, of which Ellett was a temporary employee.
The Bronx General Post Office and its lobby were designed in the Modern Classical style of architecture preferred by the New Deal-era public works programs. Ellett’s design combines modified classical ornament with a tendency to abstraction and simplification of these motifs. The double-height space features floor-to-ceiling Ionic columns, a striped marble and terrazzo floor, and a coffered ceiling with simplified rosette ornamentation. Materials include gray Missouri marble and white Tennessee marble, as well as complimentary terrazzo
