3 responses to “Is Burlingame’s post office historic? If so, what can be done?”

1. Holyroller

   November 1, 2012

   I think it is horrible that postal workers may loose their jobs.
   However, I think the day that building is razed, within a week, no one will remember what was there, let alone history. I love what Mr. Cohen does. Without him a lot of important history would have been lost, as well as reasons people want to live in Burlingame.(Property Value)
   I do not think this PO is worth the effort. With the exception of what little Art Deco interior may be salvaged.
   Fight the Good Fight Mr. Cohen!

2. Jeriann Fleres

   November 6, 2012

   What exactly makes it historic? Is it the age or did something specifically happen there? Is it the original post office of Burlingame? I would love to see somethng replace it that would become the future historic building. A theater is my favorite suggestion.

3. jennifer

   November 7, 2012

   The first post office in Burlingame was in the main railroad station. By 1927-28, it was located at 355 Primrose, in a structure that is barely recognizable today (to the right of Barracuda).
   Here is a little descriptive blurb (by Carey and Company architectural historians) 220 Park Road, published in 2007-8.
   “The United States Post Office in Burlingame sits on a rectangular parcel bounded by Lorton Avenue to the northeast and Park Road to the southwest. The painted concrete building has a rectangular plan and a flat roof with a parapet. Two wings with clay tile-clad shed roofs extend
   northeast and southwest from the building. Entrances with metal double doors and a transom containing a decorative metal eagle are located adjacent to each wing. A large relief of a woman sits above each entrance. A garage addition constructed of CMUs with three bays and a flat roof extends northwest from the post office. The primary window type is metal-sash awning windows arranged in two vertical rows of five or six windows. A small relief depicting an eagle is located under each window on the northeast and southwest façades. Burlingame’s post office was constructed in 1941 under the direction of the Federal Works Administration. Supervising architect Louis A. Simon, who had been appointed to the position in 1934, and consulting architect Ulysses Floyd Rible oversaw the building’s design. From 1934 to 1939, the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, which had been established in
   1853, designed all Federal buildings, including post offices. Although the Treasury Department reversed this policy in 1939 and began selecting private architects through regional competitions for certain projects, the supervising architect continued to oversee the design of many post
   offices. In 1939 the Office of the Supervising Architect was also transferred to the Federal Works Agency, although its function remained essentially the same. Around this time, federally designed buildings were designed in a greater stylistic range that the dominant Beaux-Arts
   classicism. Instead of displaying national trends, post office buildings began to reflect regional characteristics. The Burlingame Post office’s stucco cladding and clay tile roof reflect the Spanish Eclectic style then popular in California. The building also incorporates Art Deco elements,
   including the stylized reliefs found throughout its exterior. Simon incorporated less decoration than previous supervising architects and tended to use Art Deco-inspired motifs. Despite the addition of the garage, the building appears to retain a high level of integrity, including its plan, cladding, fenestration, and plaster motifs. Burlingame’s post office appears to be eligible for listing in the California and National Registers under Criterion C/3 as a distinct example of Art Deco style architecture and representing a transition toward a broader stylistic range, including Art Deco, in the design of federal post offices starting in 1934 under Louis Simon.”