The history of the United States Postal Service as it plays out in the streets of New York City — from the first post road to the first postage stamps.
From the most beautiful post office in the country to the forgotten Gilded Age landmark that was once considered the ugliest post office.
The postal service has always served as the country’s circulatory system, linking the densest urban areas to the most rural outposts, a necessary link in moments when the country feels very far apart in other ways. The early American colonies knew this. Benjamin Franklin knew this The Founding Fathers who placed the postal service within the Constitution knew this.
And inventions such as the stagecoach, the steamship, the railroad, the pneumatic tube and even the electric car have helped keep the mail steadily flowing over the centuries.
New York has even played a pivotal role in the development of the American mail service, from the creation of the Boston Post Road (the first mail road which snaked through Manhattan and the Bronx) to the first mail boxes. Even the first postage stamps were sold in New York — within former church-turned-post office in lower Manhattan.
Why are there so many post offices from the 1930s? Why is New York’s largest post office next to Penn Station? And why does New York City have so many individual ZIP codes? And who, pray tell, is Barnabas Bates?
LISTEN NOW: A HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE IN NEW YORK
FURTHER READING
The American Stamp / Laura Goldblatt & Richard Handler
A History of the United States Post Office to the Year 1829 / Wesley Everett Rich Ph.D
How the Post Office Created America / Winifred Gallagher
Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service / Devin Leonard
“A Brief History of the United States Postal Service” / Smithsonian Magazine
“Stations and Branches: A Brief History” / United States Postal Service
“Universal Service and the Postal Monopoly: A Brief History” / United States Postal Service
From prison to post office: The odd fate of a Dutch church
2 replies on “Special Delivery: A History of the Post Office in New York City”
Loved the episode! I have been working with a lot of old photos from the Farley building so it was great to hear about it. I’m hoping to do a biography for our website about Albert Goldman who was New York’s postmaster from 1935-1952. An amazing man who did wonders for publicizing the Post Office.
I’ve become familiar with your podcast through my friends Beckett and Susan, The History Chicks. I always enjoy listening.
June Brandt
Senior Research Analyst, Postal History
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260-0012
When the original IRT subway was designed, the old “Mullett Building” posed a problem for the engineers. The City Hall Station, which was the end of the line, had to be squeezed in between the foundation of City Hall and that of the Post Office. While beautiful, the loop was so tight that it ultimately had to be abandoned as a stop in 1945. If the Post Office had not been there, the loop would have extended into that space and would have had a much wider radius and might have remained in service.