The Main Post Office, at Fifth and Arizona, is one of the most beautiful and useful buildings in Santa Monica, but the U.S.Postal Service, arguably the only federal agency that serves
the American people directly, is under orders to consolidate its services and cut costs, and so it is preparing to shut the Main Post Office, move its services to a dreary, much less accessible locale, and sell the building.

The Santa Monica Conservancy, one of our most valuable and useful organizations, is leading the effort to save the Post Office building and keep its services in the heart of downtown Santa Monica rather than moving them off into the margins.

Herewith, the Conservancy’s latest communiqué.

The Postal Service announced on August 17 that it is proceeding with plans to relocate the services of the historic Santa Monica Main Post Office to the carrier annex at 1653 7th Street, south of Colorado and the future Expo line. The Santa Monica Conservancy was among dozens of organizations and hundreds of residents who wrote letters opposing the closure at the time of the July 17 hearing.

We are following this situation very closely, and would like to bring you up to date on three initiatives we are taking: we are joining appeals of the decision to relocate the Post Office, requesting Consulting Party status in the Section 106 Process defined by the National Historic Preservation Act, and asking our Landmarks Commission to prepare a nomination of the Post Office

Appeal of the Postal Service decision to close the 5th Street Post Office. It is our understanding that the City of Santa Monica will be making a formal appeal. The Conservancy will send its own letter opposing the decision for closure and simultaneously ask individual residents to send letters, too.

The Conservancy’s letter will include the following points:

1. The Santa Monica Main Post Office is a beautiful historic structure which is recognized in the City’s Historic Resource Inventory as being eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. It has been serving the community since its dedication in 1938 as part of the Federal Works Progress Administration.

2. We are very concerned that the proposed sale of the Post Office will place this historic building at risk. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is so concerned about the failure of the Postal Service to provide adequate protections that it has named the Historic Post Offices to its 2012 list of the Nation’s Most Endangered Historic Places. See below for additional concerns about Postal Service adherence to federal laws intended to protect historic properties as they are sold into private ownership.

3. Closing the 5th Street Post Office may very well turn a profitable location into one that operates at a loss. The current location in the Central Business District is within walking distance of many local residents and businesses, and accessible by public transit. The outpouring of opposition describes the proposed location as much less convenient and indicates that the facility would be avoided by many -– suggesting that it may not generate enough revenue to cover operating costs.

Letters of support should be sent in time to arrive by August 31 to: Vice President, Facilities, Pacific Facilities Service Office,
1300 Evans Ave. Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94188-0200

Requesting Consulting Party status in the Section 106 process defined by the National Historic Preservation Act: Under Section 106, the Postal Service cannot sell a historic property without a protective covenant to ensure that the historic property suffers “no adverse effects” when sold. Unfortunately, experience to date indicates the protections put in place are likely to be very weak unless local preservation organizations like the Conservancy request a consulting role. We will be making this request immediately without waiting for the results of the appeal, and will keep you informed of our progress.

Finally, the Conservancy has requested that the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission prepare a nomination of the Post Office so as to be ready to act as soon as the Post Office passes into private ownership, since they have no jurisdiction as long as the building remains a federal property. We understand that this will be on the Commission’s agenda for its next meeting, scheduled September 10 at 7 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

A single story PWA Moderne building with excellent ornament, the post office was designed by Neal A. Melick and Robert A Murray and built in 1937.
In their book, “Los Angeles An Architectural Guide,” David Gebhard and Robert Winter write, “The offset of the interior horizontal planking evokes the pioneering nineteenth century of the West. The Art Deco (ZigZag) Moderne decoration, especially that of the interior chandeliers, hints more of the Native American art of
Southwest than of Paris.”