James Farley Post Office

James A Farley Building
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_farley_post_office_2009.jpg
Author: chensiyuan
target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic)

The James Farley Post Office, 421 8th Avenue, is the main post office in Manhattan, New York City. It carries the ZIP code of 10001. The post office was named after James Aloysius Farley, who served as Postmaster General and a strongman within the Democratic Party. The building itself, called the James A. Farley Building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

New York City General Post Office
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PO_10001_colonnade_nite_jeh.jpg
Author: Jim.henderson
rel="nofollow">Creative Commons CC0)

The grand Post Office building was built in 1912. It has an elegant row of corinthian columns fronting its façade, with the famous words Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds inscribed above them, over a length of 280 feet. It is not originally inspired, but based on an ancient Persian postal inscription dating back to 520 B.C.

The General Post Office Building comprises the original building an a western annex. The front entrance, with its grand staircase, is on Eighth Avenue, facing Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. This section was completed in 1914. In 1934, Postmaster General James A. Farley doubled its size. The post office replaced an older one from 1878 at Park Row and Broadway. It occupies the plot of land bordered by 8th Avenue, W 31 Street, 9th Avenue and W33rd Street, the size of two city blocks, W 32nd Street is totally erased west of 7th Avenue.

Corinthian capitals on the James Farley Post Office
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYC-broadway-post-office-detail.jpg
Author: Derek Jensen (Tysto)


The imposing façade facing Eighth Avenue was meant to mirror the imposing colonade façade of the 1910 Pennsylvania Station building on the east side of Eighth Avenue by McKim, Mead & White. Unfortunately the Pennsylvania Station building was demolished in 1968 to make way for the present Madison Square Garden / Penn Station complex, to much public chagrin.

The General Post Office Building was named the James A. Farley Building in 1982 to commemorate the career of the country's 53rd Postmaster General. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

How to reach the General Post Office

Take the A, C or E train to the 34th Street / Penn Station subway station. You will be able to see the imposing post office building on the west side of Eighth Avenue.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.