James A. Farley Building

United States General Post Office
Map
Location8th Ave. between 31st and 33rd Sts., New York, New York
Coordinates40°45′04″N 73°59′43″W / 40.75111°N 73.99528°W / 40.75111; -73.99528
Area8 acres
Built1911–1914
ArchitectMcKim, Mead, and White
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
NRHP reference No.73002257[1]
NYSRHP No.06101.000007[2]
NYCL No.0232
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 29, 1973
Designated NYSRHPJune 23, 1980[2]
Designated NYCLMay 17, 1966

The James A. Farley Building is a mixed-use structure in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which formerly served as the city's main United States Postal Service (USPS) branch. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style, the structure was built between 1911 and 1914, with an annex constructed between 1932 and 1935. The Farley Building, at 421 Eighth Avenue between 31st Street and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, faces Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden to the east.

The main facade of the Farley Building (over 8th Avenue) features a Corinthian colonnade finishing at a pavilion on each end. The imposing design was meant to match that of the original Pennsylvania Station across the street. An entablature above the colonnade bears the United States Postal Service creed: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." The colonnade’s inner ceiling is decorated with the crests or emblems of ten major nations that existed at the building's completion. The remaining three facades have a similar but simpler design.

The James A. Farley Building was known as the Pennsylvania Terminal until 1918, when it was renamed the General Post Office Building. The building was made a New York City designated landmark in 1966 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was officially renamed in 1982 in honor of James Farley who was the nation's 53rd postmaster general and served from 1933 to 1940. The building was sold to the New York government in 2006. The interior space that once housed the main mail sorting room now houses the Moynihan Train Hall since 2021. Office space in the building was leased to Facebook in 2020.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2023.

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