The U.S. Post Office in Phoenix, Arizona, also known as Federal Building-U.S. Post Office, is a building of the United States federal government that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently is part of Arizona State University at the Downtown Phoenix campus.SignificanceThe Federal Building-U.S. Post Office in Phoenix, Arizona is significant on a local level in two areas: architecture and politics/government. A good example of federal architecture adapted to a regional tradition, in this case the Spanish Colonial Revival, the building was erected during the years 1932 to 1936. Part of an extensive federal building program initiated in the late 1920s, it housed the main post office of Phoenix for over thirty years, as well as the offices of the judiciary and several federal agencies. A few years after opening, murals commissioned by Treasury Department were installed in the lobby. Substantially intact, the Federal Building-Post Office continues to function as a post office branch and its tenants include the United States Tax Court and assorted federal entities.The construction of the Post Office marked Phoenix's rapid growth and its important position as the state capital. Founded in 1870-71, Phoenix had a series of post office facilities until 1913, when the U. S. Treasury Department built the Phoenix Post Office and Courthouse. By 1930, the city had outgrown the building, and Congress appropriated the funds for a new building. The Phoenix Federal Building would be one of the results of the massive federal building program underway at the time, partially in an attempt to combat the deepening Depression.
