Old Post Office Building | Historic Pittsburgh

1965-09-29

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Title
Old Post Office Building
Creator
James McClain
Identifier
MSP285.B002.F33.I03
Source Identifier
MSP285.B002.F33.I03
Description
The “Old” Post Office Building, or Fourth Avenue Post Office, was located at Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh. It was originally constructed in the 1880s and reportedly took eleven years to complete. There were a number of problems during the building’s construction including foundation issues. Architects found that the soil was too soft to support the original building plan, so the plans were altered and a request for more funds was put before the United States Congress. Materials were shipped in from all over the United States, including marble and slate from Vermont, Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as mahogany from Africa. The foundation was not completed until 1884, three years after building began, and construction of the entire building was not completed until 1892. It was torn down in 1966 to be replaced with a park and a parking lot.
Genre
photographs
Subject
United States Courts and Post Office Building (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Post office buildings--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
Central Business District--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
Source
Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, 1892-1981, MSP 285, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Contributor
Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
Collection
Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
Rights Information
Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
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