Belleville Post Office (District 118 Board of Education)

This historic limestone-clad building at the corner of W. A St. and N. 1st St. was built in 1911 and was home to the Belleville Post Office when it opened on November 11th, 1911, nearly 100 years after the first post office opened in Belleville. James Knox Taylor was the building's architect and the structure is now a contributing part of the Blair Historic District, listed in the National Register in 2015. The district covers nine blocks roughly between W. Washington, Illinois or 1st, W. C, and 3rd streets. The former Belleville Post Office now holds offices of the Board of Education for Public School District 118. The current location of the Belleville Post Office is several blocks away, at 120 W. Washington St. 

The first post office in Belleville was established in 1816 when the village was part of the Illinois Territory. It opened on March 14th with James P. Estes as the first Postmaster. Mailing rates were based on how far the mail had to be carried, instead of its weight. A single-page letter to New York City cost 25 cents, while it was only 6 cents to mail a letter to St. Louis. Belleville was part of the Great Western Mail Route beginning in 1844; a four-horse mail stagecoach passed through Belleville every day. Mail prices took a nosedive in 1845; prices were five cents on letters less than a half ounce and going up to 300 miles away; the cost doubled if the distance topped 300 miles. Postal rates changed again in 1849, costing three cents for a half ounce with no distance restrictions; a surcharge of six cents was added for every additional half ounce.

The first free delivery of mail to buildings in Belleville happened in July 1887; before then, you would pick up your mail from the post office. Belleville was split into four districts, with a carrier for each one; by 1950, there were twenty-seven carrier routes. Over two dozen mailboxes were placed around the city for convenience. President Lincoln appointed Colonel Hugo Wangelin to be Belleville Postmaster in 1865; his son Irvin W. was appointed to the same post by President Cleveland in 1894. A third generation of the family became Postmaster in 1934 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the nod to Herman G. Wangelin. Eugene Brauer was the new Postmaster in 1950, after being appointed by President Truman.

The post office in Belleville moved locations a number of times. In 1846, it was located in a brick building where Governor Reynolds' law office was situated. In 1858, the post office was nest door to the National Hotel, and it moved to the Belleville House in 1863. The location moved a half dozen more times, until the final move before this building was built (1911), when the post office moved in 1903 to the northwest corner of the Public Square, in the Lorey Building.

James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect for the Department of the Treasury when he designed the 1911 Belleville Post Office building. Taylor espoused architectural principles of dignity of design, beauty, and a convenient interior layout for public buildings. Taylor was responsible for many federal buildings' designs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the Ellis Island Immigration Hospital and the Denver Mint. Typically, the work would be handed over to a local architect, but Taylor was known to keep an eye on details. The Beaux Arts Classics style Belleville Post Office, typically known for classical elements applied for theatrical effect, cost around $100,000 to build. The building features central entrances along both street sides, atop a short flight of steps. The longer and slightly more elaborately decorated side is the five-bay-long facade facing N. 1st St.

Allen, Michael R. NRHP Nomination of Blair Historic District, Belleville, Illinois. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 2015.

Nebelsick, Alvin Louis. A History of Belleville. Belleville, IL. Township High School and Junior College, 1951.