Historic Name

Old Griswold Post Office

Address

1314 Griswold Plaza

Municipality

City of Erie

Tax Parcel

16030008011000

Historic District

Upper State Street HD

Classification

Class 1 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

64526

Historic Function

Government - post office

Style

Beaux Arts

Built

1932

Architect

Builder

Barn Type on property

Last Entry Update

7/24/2016

The Griswold Post Office was constructed in 1932 on the site of the former Erie Taxicab Company. This 55,900 square foot structure housed a local branch of the United States Postal Service for over seventy years. Its location was strategically placed adjacent to Union Station. The post office’s 23,900 square foot basement was constructed with a system of tunnels that connected it westward to the train station. This allowed mail transported by train to be easily and safely transferred to the post office. Also, a bomb shelter was placed within this westward tunnel and could shelter about 500 people. Union Station’s passenger trains could effortlessly evacuate those in the bomb shelter. Eastward of this main tunnel was an adjoining tunnel that has a rations shelter, with food containers still stocked on shelves, a two-story coal room, and a two-story boiler room with three blast furnaces. A continuation of the eastbound tunnel heads towards Peach Street and may lead to the docks at Presque Isle Bay, but this extension of the tunnel has been blocked. Upstairs on the building’s first level, where much of the post office’s activity occurred, is a mailroom and post office boxes. Employee offices were on the second floor. The Griswold Building was purchased by a local lawyer in 2010, and due to the waning use of paper mailing in the past decade, the post office relocated to a smaller space in the Mercantile Building on East 14th and State in 2012. Currently the Internal Revenue Service occupies space in the newly renamed Griswold Plaza. Its owner is dedicated to preserving the property’s history and attracting new businesses to the area.

Sources:

Sale of post office at Griswold Plaza complete

If you have additional information or corrections to the existing information, send an email to info@preservationerie.org.
Submitted information is reviewed by Preservation Erie prior to updating the database.

Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office