Filed Under Deer Lodge

US Post Office

Deer Lodge Central Business Historic District

Banker S. E. Larabie financed the construction of this one-story brick post office in 1911. The Silver State pronounced it “the finest post office of any city of its size in Montana.” The interior featured finished oak, while protective wire screening from floor to ceiling separated the public from official business. Postmaster Ithel S. Eldred’s private office was at the front. Next were the money order, registered mail, and general delivery windows, separated by wire screen partitions. Receptacles for letters and large packages and a second private office were at the back. Three wired glass skylights and tall windows at the front and rear brought in plenty of natural light. An entry on the right provided access to the postmaster’s office; an identical door at the left served as the public entrance. Decorative brickwork, dentils, and a wooden cornice at the roofline preserve the original Western commercial style details. A small ancillary brick structure at the rear originally functioned as a bake house with a built-in oven. By the 1920s it served as a furnished room.

Images

US Post Office
US Post Office US Post Office (PAc 91-51 Deer Lodge R17 F38). Front to side view of the building, facing southwest on Main Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1981

Location

314 Main Street, Deer Lodge, Montana | Public

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “US Post Office,” Historic Montana, accessed April 25, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1717.