Federal Courthouse and Post Office

Moorhead has had a Federal Post Office since the community’s founding in 1871. Throughout its history, the post office has been housed in a number of buildings and been moved to accommodate the town’s expansion. The post office inhabited this particular building from 1915 to 1966. It was originally built to accommodate more clerks and the growing demand for deliveries as the previous building could not keep up with the needs for new equipment and storage. The new building not only housed the Moorhead Post Office but also offices for the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.[1] After 1965 the building was used for art galleries such as the Red River Art Center, the Plains Art Museum, and currently (2021) the Rourke Art Museum.[2][3]

The Federal Post Office building was authorized and funded through three separate Congress bills in 1908, 1910, and 1912 and groundbreaking was overseen by Postmaster E.L. Flaten in 1913.[4] Because it was a federal building, the construction and design rights were managed by the Supervising Architect’s Office, an organization under the U.S. Treasury Department. This office was responsible for the design of most federal buildings from 1852 to 1939 and was in charge of contracting out construction and managing funding. Eventually, this office closed as most federal construction is now sent out to private contractors and architecture firms.[5] At the time of construction for the Moorhead Post Office, the Supervising Architect was Oscar Wenderoth, who had previously handled many other post offices including those in Pasadena, California and Everett, Washington.[6]

As was popular at the time, the Post Office was designed in the Neoclassical style. Neoclassical architecture was influenced by Classical Revival or “Jeffersonian Classicism” architecture which in turn referenced classic Greek and Roman architecture. The hallmarks of this style were symmetrical silhouettes, large exterior columns, and two stories for public use.[7] The post office building itself features two stories and six columns, made from “red pressed brick and Bedford stone trimmings.”[8] Renovations on the building have included general maintenance and upkeep as well as the creation of an open courtyard to the side of the building.

This building is significant historically not only as a remnant of the now obsolete Supervising Architect’s Office, but also because it is one of the few remaining historical buildings in downtown Moorhead. In the 1970s, the city of Moorhead underwent “urban renewal” in an attempt to accommodate more modern infrastructure and welcome new businesses and residents to the area. Many of the traditional buildings were torn down to make room for housing and business complexes like the Moorhead Center Mall.[9] The Post Office Building is one of the last reminders of early architecture in Moorhead and therefore was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[10] This historic connection makes it the perfect place for art museums that reference Fargo/Moorhead history and community such as The Plains Art Museum or as it was originally called, the Red River Art Center. The name changed to Plains Art Museum when the Red River Art Center combined with the O’Rourke Art Gallery Museum in 1975.[11] It stayed in residence within the post office building until 1996 when the museum moved to the newly renovated International Harvester warehouse in Fargo, North Dakota.[12] The Rourke Art Museum now resides in the post office building and showcases art from the community including pieces from the well-known Moorhead artist Cyrus M. Running.[13] For guest hours and information, please visit the Rourke Museum’s website or stop by and explore the Federal Post Office building.

[1] Post Office Souvenir : Moorhead, Minnesota, February 12, 1915, Moorhead, Minnesota, Moorhead Citizen, 1915. 11.

[2] “Plains Art Museum,” Plains Art Museum | Fargo History, Accessed March 22, 2021, https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content%2Fplains-art-museum.

[3] “History,” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, Accessed March 18, 2021. https://www.therourke.org/history.html.

[4] Post Office Souvenir, 7-8.

[5] Antoinette J. Lee, Architects to the Nation : The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

[6] “Oscar Wenderoth,” PCAD, Accessed March 18, 2021, http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/1530/.

[7] Cyril M. Harris, American Architecture : An Illustrated Encyclopedia, New York: W.W. Norton, 1998, 63-64, 224-225.

[8] Post Office Souvenir, 11.

[9] Mark Peihl, “Moorhead's Urban Renewal,” HCSCC Newsletter, Vol 5 Issue 1, spring 2013. 

[10] “Asset Detail,” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Accessed March 25, 2021, https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=1a27d7d4-4f73-4df1-ab90-c1d14f51a7f4.

[11] “James T. O'Rourke ...” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, Accessed March 22, 2021, https://www.therourke.org/james-t-orourke.html.

[12] “Plains Art Museum” Plains Art Museum | Fargo History, Accessed March 22, 2021, https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content%2Fplains-art-museum.

[13] “Cyrus M. Running ...” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.therourke.org/cyrus-m-running.html.

“Asset Detail.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=1a27d7d4-4f73-4df1-ab90-c1d14f51a7f4.

“Cyrus M. Running ...” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.therourke.org/cyrus-m-running.html.

Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture : An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.

“History.” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum. Accessed March 18, 2021. https://www.therourke.org/history.html.

“James T. O'Rourke ...” The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum. Accessed March 22, 2021. https://www.therourke.org/james-t-orourke.html.

Lee, Antoinette J. Architects to the Nation : The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office. New York. Oxford University Press, 2000.

“Oscar Wenderoth.” PCAD. Accessed March 18, 2021. http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/1530/.

Peihl, Mark “Moorhead's Urban Renewal.” HCSCC Newsletter. Vol 5 Issue 1, spring 2013.

Post Office Souvenir : Moorhead, Minnesota, February 12, 1915. Moorhead, Minnesota. Moorhead Citizen, 1915.