United States Government Building
Northwest Corner of Fayette Street and Warren Street

This Richardsonian-Romanesque building, massively constructed of Onondaga limestone, took a full four years to construct. For sixty years, starting in 1889, it housed federal offices and the main post office.

The many arches in the design were not just decorative, as in modern buildings, but functioned as true arches bearing the full weight of the walls above. During construction temporary wooden forms were used to hold the stones of the arches in place until the walls were completed.

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(Click thumbnail image for enlargement)

1905

2002

(Source: Onondaga Public Library)

(Source: Preservation Association of Central New York)

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1905

(Source: Onondaga Public Library)

Demolition of the "Old Post Office" started in 1949 and, due to its substantial construction, took four months to complete. It wasn't until more than a decade later that Merchants Bank raised its new building on this site. Much of the new building is now vacant.

1905 (Source: Onondaga Public Library)	2002
Circa 1900 Postcard	1980's Postcard, Merchants Bank
circa 1910 (Source: Erie Canal Museum)	circa 1900 Postcard