Alamosa Post Office

Incorporated in 1878, the City of Alamosa is the largest city in the San Luis Valley, a vast (eight-thousand square miles) agricultural and ranching area in south-central Colorado. Alamosa was founded as a railroad center and quickly took its place as the economic, educational, and cultural hub of the six-county region. It remains so today.  

On January 4, 1934, Postmaster John Harron, with a group of interested spectators present, publicly opened twelve bids on sites for the proposed Alamosa Post Office. The Treasury Department indicated it would pay no more than $13,000 for a site, and many of the offers requested the full amount. A few weeks later, Mr. M. A. Clark, the federal post office inspector who came to inspect the sites offered for purchase, deemed the prices asked for the local properties were too high. He was to make his recommendation in a secret report to the government. On March 12, 1934, the Alamosa Journal, the local newspaper, reported the site located at the northwest corner of San Juan Avenue and Fourth Street had been designated for the new federal building.  

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of the Supervising Architect designed most federal buildings from the mid-1800s to the end of the 1930s, including the Alamosa Post Office. A staff of mostly anonymous architects worked under the direction of the Supervising Architect. According to a listing of historic federal buildings on the U.S. General Services Administration website, Louis A. Simon was the Chief of the Architectural Division of the Office of the Supervising Architect from 1905 to 1934. In his capacity of Supervising Architect for projects by the U.S. Treasury Department, he is credited with designing numerous buildings ranging from the Internal Revenue Building (1930-35), and the Agriculture South Building (1930-36) In Washington, D.C. to small-town courthouses, U.S. border stations, and post office across the country. The original drawings for the Alamosa Post Office bear Simon’s name as Supervising Architect and that of Geo. Van Nerta as Engineer. 

During the 1930s, the federal government sought to boost the economy and provide employment through the construction of federal buildings. Increased federal construction encouraged the production of standardized plans to accelerate the design process. The large volume of building plans the Office of the Supervising Architect produced indicate Simon did not personally design all of the federal buildings constructed under his direction. However, most of the small post offices constructed during this period share a common layout. Simon may have provided a basic plan staff architects could modify for individual buildings.  

On February 11, 1935, the Daily Courier, another local Alamosa newspaper, reported H. W. Underhill Construction Company of Wichita, Kansas, submitted the lowest bid for the post office building at $44,935. On April 19, 1935, site preparations began with site excavation, leveling, and procurement of foundation materials. According to engineer H. W. Underhill, construction would require a crew of thirty to thirty-five men. 

On September 10, 1935, Harold C. Skilling, federal engineer in charge of the new post office, superintended the sealing of its cornerstone. Interestingly, no public ceremony was held. After unexpected delays, including the late arrival of furniture, fixtures, and other equipment, the building was finally ready for occupancy on November 30, 1935.  

Alamosa Post Office, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed December 29th 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/84125568.

Alamosa Post Office, Postal Locations. Accessed January 22nd 2021. https://www.postallocations.com/co/alamosa/alamosa.