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February 27, 2006

A beast, but in a good way

Why hadn't I gone into the main branch of the Bridgeport Post Office sooner? I wandered in to buy some stamps and I couldn't believe what I saw.

If you've been to the standard-issue post offices in Black Rock or Fairfield, you know it's true when I say "they don't build 'em like that anymore." This striking art deco beast (and I use the word affectionately) is downright startling to someone entering for the first time. The building sits on a forlorn stretch of Middle Street that doesn't prepare you for what you see inside.

The lobby is long and narrow, with high angled ceilings that contain frescoes of American eagles. I would guess that the interior is basically unchanged since it opened around 1930. It's all in stone, and at the far end is a mural. I'm not describing this very vividly because I didn't think to take notes, even mental ones, until I got back to the office. (Actually, I didn't think of writing a blog entry on this until our slave-driving web master mentioned it.)

The overall effect of the building, inside and out, is muscular, commanding and powerful, and more aggressively so than the bank buildings of its time. It's not quite pretty, but your surroundings imply that your transaction at the window is a very solemn one.

I need to go back a second time, and of course, do a little research on this important Bridgeport building.

Posted by lsteele on 4:34 PM | Comments (534)