High Street Elevation, Post Office, Pawtucket,
Rhode Island
By William Martin Aiken and James Knox Taylor, May 22-25, 1897
Ink and watercolor wash on paper
17 1/2" x 23"
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Public
Buildings Service
Post Office Designs: Pawtucket, Rhode
Island
The former U.S. Post Office, now the Pawtucket
Public Library–Gerald Burns Annex, is an example of the Beaux-Arts
style applied to American public building design. Beaux-Arts designers
arranged spaces symmetrically and used details to emphasize significant
parts of a building, creating a rich and complex scheme. The corner of
this one-story building has a distinguishing dome and other decorative
elements which call attention to the entrance to the building.