United States Post Office

Iowa, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Built in 1901 in Creston, Iowa, this former United States Post Office exemplifies the refined eclecticism of Gilded Age federal architecture. Designed by James Knox Taylor, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, the building merged Beaux-Arts and Georgian Revival vocabularies: its ornamental cornice, lucarnes, portico, and delicate door and window enframements speak to Beaux-Arts sophistication, while its brick construction, hipped roof, and tripartite façade—with a projecting central pavilion flanked by single-bay wings—draw from Georgian precedent. Originally a dual-purpose structure with the post office occupying the main floor and a federal courtroom above, it was recognized with listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The building now serves as commercial space, having been vacated as postal operations moved to a modern facility.