St. Petersburg’s open air post office is one of the most unique and photographed buildings in the city, but did you know that it has a European doppelganger? The one-of-a-kind post office (there are purportedly two others in the United States, but good luck finding out where they are) was conceived of in 1916 by postmaster Roy Hanna, who didn’t like the government’s original proposal of a large, columned building with grand stairs leading up off the street. Hanna wanted to see a building that took advantage of the Sunshine City’s famous balmy climate, giving patrons access to their PO boxes at any time of the day or night.
Hanna enlisted retired architect George Stuart, who also designed the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (and who was famous in his day for having been shot in the neck by an arrow in Canada’s Indian Wars…not exactly something people brag about these days.) Together the men sketched out a new design, modeled after one of the icons of early Italian Renaissance architecture, the Ospedale degli Innocenti, or “Hospital of Innocents”, a children’s hospital in Florence, Italy designed by Filipp Brunelleschi in 1424. Looking at a photo of the Italian hospital today, it would be easy to confuse it with its St. Pete twin.
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One of the only cities in America with biking mail carriers
The post office was dedicated in 1917 and was originally open on three sides – the north, east, and south sides of the building, as seen in the photo below. A portion of the eastern facade, and the entire southern end of the building – the one on the alley between the Snell Arcade and the post office, were enclosed in the 1960s to allow for air conditioning. When the post office was first built, the Snell Arcade and its neighbor the Florida Arcade, deposited patrons directly into the open-aired service area of the post office, as you can see below.
And as if an open air post office wasn’t unique enough – St. Pete is also one of the only cities in the US where some residents mail is still delivered by bicycle! If you live in the 33701 zip code, you may still get mail delivered by one of a handful of St. Pete bicycle mail carriers who departed on their route from the Open Air Post Office.
Want to learn more about St. Pete’s history? Join Monica on one of her history tours in person! Reserve your spot here.
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