U.S. Post Office

This building was completed in 1942 by Louis A. Simon. Simon was the supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury and modeled the building after stripped classical architecture, combining it with regional influences. Built in the WWII Era, the nation was focused on economic recovery. This means that the government did not typically fund expensive projects nor focus on ornamental details of buildings. However, it is not a typical 1940s federal building. The Post Office is a large, white, marble-clad building with giant columns, resembling Greek architecture, like many buildings in downtown Athens.

The Post Office is currently listed under the National Register of Historic Places since August 10, 1978. The criteria which made the building eligible is that the property is associated with events that have “made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history” and that the property “possesses high artistic values” which come from a specialist and a distinctive method of construction. Since the construction, the building has maintained the original use of a post office and courthouse. Furthermore, the building has most of the same form, materials, and finishes since 1942.