The Weiss Center, formerly the U.S. Post Office-Manchester Main is a historic building at 491 Main Street in
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713 ...
. It was built in 1931 and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1986 for its architecture. It includes
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
,
Classical Revival
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
, and
Georgian Revival
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...
architectural features.
[
]
Description and history
The Robert Weiss Center is located at the northern end of Manchester's main downtown commercial district, at the northeast corner of Main Street ( Connecticut Route 83) and Center Street (United States Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...
). It is a single-story masonry structure, built out of brick with limestone trim, with a unique pentagonal floorplan. It presents a broad three-bay front entry facade at an angle to the street intersection, with a projecting Classical four-column portico at the center. The portico has round Doric columns rising to an entablature and a gabled pediment studded with modillion
A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...
blocks. The center of the gable is decorated with garlands and swags. The flanking windows are tall round-headed sashes. The interior lobby area features brown tile flooring with white marble borders and wainscoting.[ and ] The post office occupied it until 1991, after which the building was acquired by the city. It was officially named the Weiss Center in 1994.
See also
*
*List of United States post offices
Several United States post offices are individually notable and have operated under the authority of the United States Post Office Department (1792–1971) or the United States Postal Service (since 1971). Notable U.S. post offices include indivi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Post Office (Manchester, Connecticut)
Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut
Neoclassical architecture in Connecticut
Georgian Revival architecture in Connecticut
Government buildings completed in 1931
Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
Manchester, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut