US Post Office--Milton Main

_PHYSICAL APPEARANCE_ The building and its property are in good condition. The post office is on the front (northern) portion of the lot with a paved vehicle maneuvering area to its rear. The site is landscaped with lawn and several shrubs; driveways to the rear provide access to Edge Hill Road and Hollis Street. The building is constructed of local quarried granite with oversized blocks acting as lintels. The gable ends are of stucco; the copper-covered pitched roof is topped by a highly detailed cupola. In plan, the building has a small vestibule leading to a public lobby, flanked by the Postmaster's office to the right and workroom space to the left. Behind the service screen is the workroom with a mail vestabule and platform beyond.

Fifteen steps with wrought-iron railings create the main approach. The front (north) elevation is a five-bay structure with a higher, pedimented three-bay projecting central entranceway which breaks down the volume of the building. The building's base is of projecting ashlar granite. Iwo replacement aluminum and glass doors are framed by original sidelights and fanlight,all set within an arched recess with large granite voussoirs. Oversized iron and glass electric lanterns flank the opening. This section is topped by a pediment with a carving of an eagle between two hatchets. Above the gable roof is a cupola of wood construction, circular in plan, with louvered side panels and a copper roof. Windows are double-hung, wood sash with 12/12 lights, large lintels and thin sills.

The east and west elevations are similar in detail to the front facade. Four bays long, the end bays are topped by smaller, plain gabled roofs with a flat roof in between. The southfacade has the mail platform. One enters into a highly carved, stained wood vestibule.

Dedication: January 27, 193%UILDER/ARCHITECT Louis A. Simon, Supervising Archi- tect Overlooking the Southeast Expressway, the Milton Main Post Office serves as an attractive gateway to the architecturally rich residential areas, to the West, bordering Brook and Edgehill Roads. Built in 1936, it is architecturally significant as a representative of the construction and design policies of the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) during the late 1930's. Although it is slightly less than fifty (50) years old it is important as an example of P.W.A. Supervising Architect, Louis Adolf Simon's efforts to use local building materials, standardized construction methods and streamlined, etticient plans.

In addition, this building contains an important mural by Guggenheim Fellowship winner, Ellzabeth Tracy of Cambridge, MA. This building is of a simple Colonial Revival design of the type employed in late 1930's post offices. Its simple, compact T-shaped form and logical 5-area plan facilitated a construction schedule of only seven months. It was the P.W.A.'s policy to build a post office as quickly as possible so that communities could benefit from them during the Depression. In keeping with government policy of the time, walls were constructed of local granite rather than an expensive imported stone. Ornamentation is minimal and limited to the ecliptical arched entrance enrichment.

This structure is dominated by a Colonial Revival cupola which serves as local landmark and more abstractly as a symbol of the Federal Government. This building's design originated in the office of U.S. Supervising Architect, Louis Adolf Simon (c. 1870-1941). He was born in Boston and educated at M.I.T. He began a private practice in Washington, D.C. in 1894 and entered the office of the U.S. Treasury Supervising Architect in 1896. He served as the chief architect in this office from 1905-1933. From 1933 until his death in 1941, he was the U.S.