Post impressions

By Mark J. Price, Beacon Journal staff writer

Akron residents ridiculed the new building at East Market and South High streets. They called it a blemish on the skyline and a waste of taxpayer money.

The Beacon Journal condemned it as an architectural monstrosity and urged citizens to protest its construction.

The hideous building that caused so much controversy was the federal post office, a brick-and-limestone edifice that opened in July 1899.

Through the decades, it became a cherished landmark in downtown Akron and eventually earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, it is encased in glass and steel. A winglike projection hovers over its roof.

Yes, it's that building.

The old post office is the original section of the newly expanded Akron Art Museum, which reopens this week after a $44.3 million capital campaign.

Sometimes history has a keen sense of humor.

``Akron has not an architect who could not, with both hands tied behind his back and with his eyes blindfolded, design a far better looking building and one more adapted to the purpose for which it is to be used, than the monstrosity which the government architect has planned for this city,'' the Beacon Journal fumed July 16, 1897.

Washington architect James Knox Taylor (1857-1929) had just unveiled a preliminary design for the post office: a rectangular building with a prominent roof.

The early reviews were not kind. Leading citizens likened the drawing to ``a barn,'' ``a cheap shed'' and ``a mean-looking little shanty.''

``I think the sight of it would repel strangers from Akron,'' businessman P.F. O'Neil said. ``It has the appearance of a mausoleum.''

``Akron people ought to hold an indignation meeting,'' insurance agent Jacob I. Bachtel said. ``When I think of the diminutive size of the proposed structure, I'm tempted to say something harsh.''

``I think it's unjust that we should have to put up with a building that isn't good enough for the town,'' merchant Abraham Polsky said. ``We should have at least $100,000 to build one with.''

The price tag was particularly nettlesome. The federal project was to cost $62,000 -- more than $1.8 million in today's dollars.

Meanwhile, the Werner Co. was completing an elegant office building at Perkins and Union streets. The brick castle, which stands today, cost only $25,000.

No one denied that the city needed a larger post office. With Akron's population nearing 42,000, the letter station had outgrown the Schumacher Building on Mill Street. Thousands of envelopes arrived each day in ``The Tip-Top City.''

In comparison, Akron's original post office measured only 2 feet by 18 inches. It was the desk that Akron postmaster Wolsey Wells used in his home at West Exchange and Water streets in 1827 when the Ohio & Erie Canal was under construction.

Federal authorities chose the southeast corner of Market and High for the city's first government-owned post office.

Pioneer merchant Charles W. Howard built a cottage there in 1834 and it stood for nearly 60 years. It was home to Dr. Samuel W. Bartges before the Union Club, a local business group, converted it into a social hall.

In 1893, the government bought the property for $13,000, demolished the cottage and cleared the way for a post office.

Taylor, supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed a two-story building in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. It would be 105 feet long on East Market and 68 feet wide on High Street. The entrance would be in a conical tower on the northwest corner.

Critics howled when they saw the drawing. It was more roof than building! The post office's height was no more than 30 feet from sidewalk to eaves. However, the roof climbed an additional 35 feet before flattening out.

The Akron Times Democrat employed sarcasm in its description: ``Akron's pride, her joy, her paragon of excellence, is this $75,000 government building Uncle Sam's bounty provides.''

It went on to describe the design as being of ``sinister appearance, low, mean and squatty.''

Despite the protest, the government opened bids in July 1898 and awarded the contract to Rollin, Mulcahy & Carmichael.

Citizens grumbled as ground was broken in August, but they cheered a surprising development that fall. Col. Charles Dick, the newly elected congressman from Akron, brokered a deal to alter the plans.

The revisions made the building 10 feet taller, scaled back the roof, eliminated the conical tower and moved the entrances to the front and side.

A hush fell on the critics. A chorus of praise ensued.

It was a beautiful post office.

The front steps were of Georgia granite. Wrought-iron railings and lamps decorated the arched entrance. Carved stone eagles guarded the door. Patrons walked into a grand lobby of Vermont marble. Electric and gas chandeliers provided light.

The first floor featured the general delivery, stamp and money order departments, as well as vaults and the postmaster's office. The second floor had the revenue department, postal inspector's room and a dormitory for railway mail clerks. The basement had a lounge and changing area for carriers.

Postmaster L.S. Ebright installed a 500-pound, solid-oak desk in his office and put a picture of himself on the wall.

The grand opening was Sunday, July 30, 1899.

``People who have visited the new post office building have found out that Uncle Sam has done pretty well for Akron after all,'' the Beacon Journal admitted. ``It has become so fashionable for fault to be found with everything that the government does or has done for it that fault will likely be found with both the exterior and interior for a long time to come, but despite that, the unprejudiced observer will say that Akron has been pretty well treated.''

Akron enjoyed the post office for 10 years before it grew too small. That didn't stop the facility from operating for another two decades. The city's population swelled to 255,000 before a replacement was built.

In 1929, the government dedicated a $583,000 post office and federal building at Market and Prospect streets. That post office (later the home of Charles Mayer Studios) operated for 46 years until the Wolf Ledges facility opened in 1975.

The former post office at Market and High served as the home of the Akron Public Health Clinic, Community Action Agency and U.S. Army & Air Force Recruiting Station.

After a $4.5 million renovation, it reopened in 1981 as the Akron Art Museum, which has anchored the corner ever since.

The place looks different today. The museum broke ground in 2004 on an expansion that triples the size from 21,000 square feet to 64,000 square feet.

Viennese architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au designed a modern addition of gleaming glass and jutting metal.

A cantilevered arm protrudes over the roof of the old building.

The futuristic design has turned Akron's citizens into art critics. Everyone seems to have an opinion about the building.

Some like it. Some don't.

Disagreement is nothing new on that corner. Maybe we'll reach a consensus in 100 years.