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NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:52643 Columbia River Hwy historic name:United States Post Office [Scappoose]
Scappoose, Columbia County current/other names:
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Building height (stories):1.0 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1966 second date: date indiv listed:01/31/2017
primary orig use: Post Office orig use comments:
second orig use: Post Office
primary style: Modern Period: Other prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Stucco siding comments:
secondary siding: Concrete Block
plan type: architect:Stanton, Boles, Maguire and Church
builder:
comments/notes:
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   U.S. Post Office Facilities in Oregon, 1940-1971 MPS 01/31/2017 2016
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 01/31/2017
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date:
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The main post office in Scappoose opened in 1966 and is of the Modern style. Situated 21 miles northwest of Portland, Scappoose is located along U.S. 30, the main vehicle corridor connecting Portland to coastal Astoria. Scappoose is a community of approximately 6,000, west of the Columbia River. The post office is located a couple of blocks to the north of the city’s core. The area surrounding the post office along U.S. 30 is best characterized as low-density automobile oriented commercial with low-density residential housing to the west, away from the highway. The subject property is a full city block. The post office is oriented to the east toward U. S. 30 and is located approximately at the center of the block along the highway. To the north is patron parking. To the west is employee parking and loading areas. The one-story building is reinforced concrete construction with a flat asphalt roof. The exterior is modular clad in full-height prefabricated stucco panels alternating with panels of plate glass and painted aluminum. The interior is separated into 15 rooms, but grouped into three core areas: the patron lobby, retail/service lobby, and postal service work and office spaces. Interior finishes in lobbies and offices include painted gypsum board walls and ceiling, while the floor is vinyl composition tile (VCT) or carpet; the work space has utilitarian finishes. Integrity is intact with an original floor plan, slight modifications to interior finishes. The only alteration is an addition to the loading dock dating to the late 2000s.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
Within the context of the multiple property document, “U.S. Post Office Department Facilities in Oregon, 1940 to 1971” and the Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, signed by Oregon SHPO on May 26, 2011, the Scappoose Post Office is being nominated for the National Register under Criterion C for Architecture as a statewide example of a Thousand Series Post Office. The Multiple Property Document Form (MPDF), “U.S. Post Office Department Facilities in Oregon, 1940 to 1971,” evaluated USPS-owned resources within the state and established both building typology and a basis for evaluation. The Thousand Series building is the most prevalent building type both in Oregon and nationwide. To be eligible for the National Register under this MPDF, a Thousand Series building must be evaluated on a statewide basis and determined to be 1) “a singularly exceptional representation of the Thousand Series” and 2) maintain “a high degree of integrity.” The MPDF assessed Thousand Series Post Offices in the state and specifically identified the Scappoose facility as the best example of the building type within that geographic boundary. It is a particularly full representation of the building type’s character-defining features and maintains a high degree of integrity. The period of significance is the date of construction, 1966.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library:St. Helens Library University Library:
Historical Society: Other Respository:
Bibliography:
Bruns, James H. Great American Post Offices. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1998. City of Scappoose. Scappoose History. http://www.ci.scappoose.or.us/index.asp?SEC=6E5B0F5C-8A41-4C74-89A1-85DE5C6A50B5&Type=B_BASIC (accessed July, 2013). Corning, Howard McKinley. Dictionary of Oregon History. Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort. 1956. Helbock, Richard W. Oregon Post Offices, 1847-1982. Las Cruces, NM: La Posta. 1982. McArthur, Lewis A. Oregon Geographic Names. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press. 1982. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database. Oregonian. September 25, 1960. Ritz, Richard E., FAIA. Architects of Oregon. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing. 2002. Robinson & Associates. Growth, Efficiency, and Modernism: GSA Buildings of the 1950s, 60s and 70’s. Washington, DC: General Services Administration. 2003. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. St. Helens Library. Sentinel-Mist Newspaper Microfilm. July 1, 1965, September 13, 1965. October 29, 1964, December 13, 1965 and February 10, 1966. South County Spotlight. Scappoose, Spotlight Newspaper. June 10, 1965, June 24, 1965, July 1, 1965, July 22, 1965, July 29, 1965, September 16, 1965, October 14, 1965, November 18, 1965 and December 16, 1965. United States Postal Service. “The United States Postal Service: An American History 1775-2006.” Washington, DC: United States Postal Service. 2007. URS Group, Inc. “USPS Nationwide Historic Context Study: Postal Facilities Constructed or Occupied Between 1940 and 1971.” 2012. Unpublished.