🧱 United States Post Office – Hot Springs

Address:  116 North Chicago Street, Hot Springs, SD

Built:  1932

First Occupant:  United States Post Office

Current Occupant:  United States Post Office

Sandstone Quarry:  Evans Quarry

Architect:  James A. Wetmore (Acting Supervising Architect, U.S. Treasury Department)

Contractor:  St. Paul Stone & Construction Co. (per 1932 Stevens construction photo)

Architectural Style:  Spanish Revival–influenced federal building

📜 Historical Overview

Postal service in Hot Springs passed through several homes before settling into its current Chicago Street location. The first local offices appeared under the names Oella (1881) and Minnekahta, before adopting the Hot Springs name in 1882 under postmaster Alexander Stewart. By 1884, operations ran from a small shanty near Sixth Street and River Avenue, which also doubled as a public eating house under acting postmaster John Kenton.

By the 1890s, the Post Office moved into the new City Hall on River Street, sharing space with the fire and police departments, city jail, and upstairs council chambers and library. In 1909 the library shifted into the council rooms, but a fire in February 1910 damaged both the library and post office. That spring the Post Office relocated, while the library moved downstairs into the vacated postal rooms.

Later in 1910, the Post Office reopened next door in the Transfer, Feed & Fuel Building, a two-story sandstone block outfitted with brass fixtures and 400 lockboxes. From this more modern home it served the community for over two decades, until the federal government commissioned a permanent facility.

In 1932, the U.S. Treasury Department oversaw construction of a dedicated post office at the corner of North Chicago Street and Jennings Avenue. Designed under acting supervising architect James A. Wetmore, the building reflects Spanish Revival influences popular in federal projects of the era. It was built by St. Paul Stone & Construction Co. using sandstone from the Evans Quarry. Distinctive features include carved floral cornices, bronze exterior lamps, a clay tile hipped roof, a granite foundation, and a round-arched entry framed by spiral-molded stonework. Local stoneworker John Coleman later confirmed the Evans Quarry connection, making the Hot Springs Post Office a rare Depression-era federal project executed with locally quarried stone.

📍 Modern Era

Since opening in 1932 with David K. Batchelor as postmaster, the Chicago Street post office has remained in continuous operation. Today, it continues to serve as both a functional civic facility and a downtown architectural landmark.

QR Code Info:  Built in 1932 of Evans Quarry sandstone, the Hot Springs Post Office reflects Spanish Revival design with its clay tile roof, arched entry, and carved floral cornices. Designed under U.S. Treasury architect James A. Wetmore, it features bronze lamps, heavily muntined windows, and lettering cut in stone. Replacing the earlier River Street location, it has served continuously as the community’s post office and remains a downtown landmark.