Union Station and the National Postal Museum

The Postal Square Building is a mammoth Beaux-Arts style building that is home to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some Senate Offices, the Capital City Brewery, and the National Postal Museum. This building and the, newer, Thurgood Marshall Judiciary Building, flank Union Station creating an impressive wall of marble just a few blocks north of the Capitol.

Union Station

I almost didn’t make it to the Postal Museum today because I stopped off first at Union Station. I love trains. In college, I took the train from home in Richmond back and forth to school in Connecticut. I also love the ease of travelling by train compared to the hassle of flying Union Station.

Ceiling Detail - Union Station

Union Station Interior

Since moving to the area it has been my gateway to New York. I hadn’t made a trip north since April and ever-so- briefly considered hopping the 1:35 Northeast Regional yesterday. Realizing that I had no one to pet sit and no one to visit in New York right now, I quickly made my way over to the Postal Museum before I had time to change my mind.

Postal Museum viewed through Union Station arcade

Once again, I found myself blown away by the beauty of the architecture so characteristic of old D.C. What is particularly impressive is that this spectacular building was 1) actually used as a post-office from 1914-1986 and 2) that it isn’t even the first spectacular postal building build for the capital. In the late 1800s, the city built a magnificent Post Office building and tower. Unfortunately, by the time it was completed in 1899, its Romanesque architectural style was no longer in vogue. OK, so maybe that is more excessive than impressive, but if buildings were shoes, I could relate.

After passing through the metal detector and having my bag scanned (see again why I prefer trains to planes), I walked into the grand hall of the Old Post Office. Having removed all of the 1960’s era “improvements” (like fluorescent lighting), the hall has been restored to its original glory. Intricate grills and metal work surround the P.O. boxes and attendant windows, beautifully carved marble tables are positioned along the center of the hall, and large scale chandeliers hang from the elaborate, floral plaster ceiling. That isn’t even part of the official museum, but may have been my favorite part of the visit.

Main Hall

Chandelier and Ceiling

The museum itself was opened in 1993. It is not, to my relief, composed of many rooms of stamps. There was one room of stamps and facts about stamps, but most of the museum details the evolution of the postal system including changing means of mail transport, the role of the postal system in civil defense (e.g., crimes associated with the mail – think anthrax and the Unabomber), and the mail through our nation’s history (V-mail used during World War II).

Old Mail Train
Workers had to sort 600 pieces of mail and hour!

My favorite postal fact (actually a stamp fact) is this: a “bisect” is a stamp cut in half to create the right amount of postage. This used to be OK…have a 20 cent stamp and you only need 10? Cut it in half.

Two stamps and a bisect

Model T on Skis

The Model T Ford whose front wheels had been replaced by skis for rural, winter mail delivery in New England was pretty cool too.

Post Office boxes from around the world