Post Office & Minit-Park

The cornerstone laying ceremony for the new Alliance Post Office building on the northeast corner of Arch Avenue and East Market Street, took place on November 12, 1916. The ceremony was led by Conrad Lodge 271 of the Free and Accepted Masons who laid the cornerstone and music was provided by the Alliance City Band. The Neoclassical style building, made of sandstone with limestone details, was designed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Architectural Supervisor for the U.S. Treasury Department. It opened for business December 1, 1918, and has been in continuous use as Alliance's central post office ever since. The historic building underwent a "facelift" from 2013-2015, including removal of the exterior sandstone at the top of the building and then replacement of the damaged sandstone with new stone to maintain the building's historic integrity. A sample block from the removed damaged portion lies on the ground by the exterior mailbox.

The parking lot behind the post office on E. Market Street was the site of the former Minit-Park, an automated parking garage designed and built by Alliance Machine.

Post Office: The cornerstone laying ceremony for the new Alliance Post Office building on the northeast corner of Arch Avenue and East Market Street, took place on November 12, 1916. The ceremony was led by Conrad Lodge 271 of the Free and Accepted Masons who laid the cornerstone and music was provided by the Alliance City Band. The Neoclassical style building, made of sandstone with limestone details, was designed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Architectural Supervisor for the U.S. Treasury Department. It opened for business December 1, 1918, and has been in continuous use as Alliance's central post office ever since. The historic building underwent a "facelift" from 2013-2015, including removal of the exterior sandstone at the top of the building and then replacement of the damaged sandstone with new stone to maintain the building's historic integrity. A sample block from the removed damaged portion lies on the ground by the exterior mailbox.

Minit-Park: The parking lot behind the post office on E. Market Street was the site of the former Minit-Park, an automated parking garage designed and built by Alliance Machine. The garage was an experiment by Alliance Machine's CEO Merrick Lewis with Elvin Madison as the engineer who designed the structure and Milo Shutt as the designer of the transporting dolly. Cars would enter and be driven onto an elevator by a garage attendant, then be transported to a floor in the garage. The attendant would then park the car in an assigned parking bay. Only four of the garages were built: the one in Alliance on Market Street, one in New York City at the Fulton Fish Market, one in New York City at Washington and Rector, and one in Tokyo Japan.

National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Alliance East Main Street Historic District, 2017.

Reminiscences of Elvin Madison: Minit-Park described beginning at 19:52. http://local.rodmanlibrary.com/video/madison.mp4