History of 11 York post offices delivers downtown tour (column)

The news the other week that the “old York post office,” on the corner of Philadelphia and Beaver streets, was purchased for redevelopment purposes sent me to the history books.

Most recently, the York Rescue Mission’s Lighthouse Youth Center occupied the building.

The three-story, brick, Romanesque structure was once a crowning glory of York city’s growth near the end of the 19th century.

According to Prowell’s authoritative history of York, written in 1907:

"The government building at the northeast corner of Philadelphia and Beaver Streets was completed in 1895.  An appropriation of $80,000 was made by act of Congress May 26, 1890 ….  The sum of $24,000 was paid for the site.  The first floor of the building is used by the post office department and the second floor by the United States revenue department."

Picking the memories of the “oldest citizens of York in 1907,” Prowell traces the history of earlier post office locations in York city.

The first post office, he says, was at the “northeast corner of Water and Market Streets.”  Water Street is now Pershing Avenue, and the location, as described by Prowell, would be the site of today’s restored Golden Plough Tavern.

The second was at “McGarth’s Hotel on the site of the Rupp Building on Centre Square.”  The Rupp Building still occupies the southwest corner of the square.

Third “in a stone building on the site of the P. Wiest’s Sons’ Store.”  The store is now the William T. Wolf Center for Philanthropy at 14 W. Market St. and the .home of York County Community Foundation, across Cherry Lane from Trinity United Church of Christ.

Post office No. 4:  “In the building next to the National Hotel” near the corner of Market and Beaver streets.

No. 5 was “in a building that stood on the site of the County Court House” in the first block of East Market Street, now the York County Administration Center at 28 E. Market St.

Hopscotching downtown, No. 6: “on the west side of North George Street, first door from corner building.”

The seventh post office “in a building immediately east of Trinity Church on West Market Street.”  That would have put it back on, or close to, the Wiest site of post office number three.

Post office No. 8 was a return to the Rupp Building location, but this time “in the rear … at the southwest angle of Centre Square.”

Moving along to post office No. 9 – and the last one before the opening of the 1895 building to house the post office – “was at the northeast angle of Centre Square next to Small’s Store” (later the Murphy’s 5 & 10 and now the site of a large glass-enclosed office building).

The Philadelphia and Beaver streets post office served York until 1912 when $135,000 was secured through an act of Congress for a new structure on the corner of Princess and George streets that would also be a memorial to the Continental Congress’ nine-month stay in York.  With the addition of parcel post service, according to 1945’s “York, The Story of a Dynamic Community,” a much larger facility was needed and the building was expanded to its present size.  “Work was completed on it October 1940, at a total cost of $1,000,000.”

The now empty building – with its 13 seals above the entrance each representing one of the original colonies – is still one of the most imposing structures in York city.

That building was an active post office until the opening of the current facility in 1994 on Concord Road, across from the York County Prison.

A mental tour of the former post office buildings certainly provides an overview of downtown York’s changing scene over more than 150 years.

Gordon Freireich is a former editor of the York Sunday News.  Read his blog at yorkblog.com/lawn. E-mail: gordon@newtongroup.com.