Category:United States Post Office, Allentown, Pennsylvania

The first Allentown Post office was established in 1801 in a small tavern, located on the northeast corner of center square. Prior to that time there were few inhabitants of Allentown and they had to go to Bethlehem to pick up mail. George Savitz was the first Postmaster, as he was the owner of the tavern.

In 1906, a new post office at North Sixth and Turner streets opened at a cost of $115,000. Six Ionic columns with Corinthian capitals supported the entrance, which was topped by a Terra cotta eagle. It closed in 1934 when the current main post office was opened at Fifth and Hamilton Streets.

After it closed, the old Post Office was the subject of much debate. Everything from an art museum to a health and welfare center were proposed as new uses for the attractive building. In 1939, the building was purchased by the City of Allentown and it remained unused through the 1930s, during World War II, and into the postwar years of the late 1940s. All the while the building remained vacant while it fell more and more into a state of decay.

Finally in 1952, it was purchased from the city by a parking lot operator, which tore down the structure in April 1952. Today it is the site of the Morning Call Newspaper parking garage.

The current United States Post office in Allentown was designed by Allentown firm Jacoby and Everett. It has been in continuous operation since 1934. Construction began in 1932 under President Herbert Hoover, and work was completed during President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration.

The building features numerous art deco details, including black granite archways and original art deco light fixtures. Inside, 10 murals painted by Gifford Reynolds Beal depict scenes specific to the Lehigh Valley, including Allentown soldiers marching off to the Civil War and the Zion Reformed Church receiving the Liberty Bell, which was hidden there during the American Revolution.

Today the current Post Office only houses retail service and PO boxes. The majority of the building is empty since the carriers and distribution clerks moved to the Airport Rd office (former Lehigh Valley Processing Center) in the 1990s. In 2022, the USPS decided to sell the building. Once sold, its fuure status is undetermined.