ART & ART DECO CLEVELAND 2006
September 13-17, 2006

Main Post Office (1934)

(now MK-Ferguson Building) 1500 West Third Street. Architects: Walker & Weeks, Philip Small & Associates.

The last building in the Terminal Tower Complex to be constructed, the exterior architecture is a very conservative example of Art Deco, sometimes referred to as "stripped Neoclassism." This style of Art Deco is typical of federal government buildings of the period. Like the rest of the Terminal Group, it was built on the air rights of the Cleveland Union Terminal. It took advantage of its position employing a state-of-the-art system of chutes and conveyors to transfer the mail from the building to railroad cars below. (Read more about the Terminal Tower Complex under the "Silver Grille" and "English Oak Room" headings.)

The building underwent an adaptive renovation in 1990 after the Post Office moved to a new facility. The upper floors are now offices, but the former lobby of postal windows has been nicely preserved. Low relief decorative panels are Art Deco in style and feature a "mailman" theme. We appreciated the different modernistic light fixtures, but our favorite were the very "futuristic" writing tables.

Ohio Bell Telephone Building