James A. Farley Building
The James A. Farley Building is a mixed-use structure in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which formerly served as the city's main United States Postal Service (USPS) branch. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style, the structure was built between 1911 and 1914, with an annex constructed between 1932 and 1935. The Farley Building, at 421 Eighth Avenue between 31st Street and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, faces Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden to the east.
Location
8th Ave. between 31st and 33rd Sts., New York, New York
8 acres
1911–1914
06101.000007[2]
0232
January 29, 1973
June 23, 1980[2]
May 17, 1966
The main facade of the Farley Building (over 8th Avenue) features a Corinthian colonnade finishing at a pavilion on each end. The imposing design was meant to match that of the original Pennsylvania Station across the street. An entablature above the colonnade bears the United States Postal Service creed: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The colonnade's inner ceiling is decorated with the crests or emblems of ten major nations that existed at the building's completion. The remaining three facades have a similar but simpler design.
The James A. Farley Building was known as the Pennsylvania Terminal until 1918, when it was renamed the General Post Office Building. The building was made a New York City designated landmark in 1966 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was officially renamed in 1982 in honor of James Farley who was the nation's 53rd postmaster general and served from 1933 to 1940. The building was sold to the New York government in 2006. The interior space that once housed the main mail sorting room now houses the Moynihan Train Hall since 2021. Office space in the building was leased to Facebook in 2020.
Site[edit]
The building fronts on the west side of Eighth Avenue, across from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. It is at 421 Eighth Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The site is bounded by Eighth Avenue to the east, 31st Street to the south, Ninth Avenue to the west, and 33rd Street to the north.[3] The Farley Building occupies two full city blocks, an 8-acre (32,000 m2) footprint straddling the tracks of the Northeast Corridor and the Farley Corridor (sub-district B) in western Midtown Manhattan.[4] The building occupies a land lot measuring 455 feet (139 m) along Eighth and Ninth Avenues, and 800 feet (240 m) along 31st and 33rd Streets. According to the New York City Department of City Planning, it has a lot area of 364,000 square feet (33,800 m2) and a gross floor area of 1,378,125 square feet (128,032.0 m2).[5]
History[edit]
Construction[edit]
A general post office in Midtown Manhattan had been planned from the late 1890s.[27] As part of the planning of Penn Station in the first decade of the 20th century, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) proposed that the United States Post Office Department construct a post office on 8th Avenue, across from the station. In February 1903, the U.S. government accepted the PRR's proposal and made plans to construct what would become the Farley Building.[28] A deed was prepared and submitted in 1905 to George B. Cortelyou, the Postmaster General of the United States. The PRR would construct the tracks and supporting columns under the post office as part of the plan. The site faced opposition from several members of the United States Congress, who expressed concern that the U.S. government would only own "a chunk of space in the air", namely the air rights above the tracks.[29] Concern also stemmed from the planned interior court measuring 100 by 150 feet (30 by 46 m), which could potentially become a ventilation flue.[30] Nonetheless, the land for the post office was acquired by June 1906.[31] The U.S. government took title to the site in January 1907, with an easement for the PRR allowing trains to use the tracks and platforms underneath.[32]
The architect was selected under the Tarsney Act of 1893, which permitted the Supervisory Architect to hold an architectural design competition for U.S. government facilities.[33] Several prominent firms and architects were invited to submit plans in early 1908.[34] Supervisory architect James Knox Taylor selected McKim, Mead & White for the post office the same year.[35][36][a] By then, steelwork for the tracks and platforms was already under construction.[27] The initial appropriation for the post office building was $2.5 million, but in April 1910, Congress allocated another $1 million for construction.[37] The construction of Pennsylvania Station across the street was progressing more quickly. The as-yet-incomplete Penn Station post office saw its first mail, delivered through the mail platform, when the station officially opened on November 27, 1910.[38][39] A $2.5 million contract to build the Post Office was awarded to the George A. Fuller Company in March 1911.[40][41][42] By December 1913, the post office was already processing second, third, and fourth class mail. The New York Times characterized the new post office as "not only the largest, but the finest in the world" of its kind.[17]