As part of my documentation process, I like to take pictures of the cornerstone of the building. On this particular occasion my wife was with me and gathered a few photos of me working.
One interesting feature I’ve come across over the years are those cornerstones you see on older buildings. I have always found them fascinating and apparently I’m not the only one. Here is a quote from one of my readers and fans who has also researched post office cornerstones.
The cornerstones were supplied by the quarry company that had a contract with the general contractor to supply all the stone work for the project. The cornerstone arrived as a blank, and was inscribed at the local level, with the general contractors instructions from his set of blueprints prepared by The Treasury Dept. Washington, DC. In this manner all the quality and color, shade, of the stone would be the same. Perhaps some contracts were for Limestone and others for Sandstone, and on the larger projects, Granite.The text that we refer to was issued, and noted on the blueprints by The Treasury Dept. Office Of The Supervising Architect, Washington, DC. Source (Robert M.)
Cornerstones by Year
The following cornerstones display the various years.
Cornerstones Disregarded
The next gallery displays how the cornerstones have been disregarded or overlooked during improvements.
I have no problem with the ramp additions and I’m glad they were added to assist those with disabilities. What I have a problem with is the lack of forethought or planning when they were installed.
The first image is from the Carlyle, Illinois building. Here we can only assume the cornerstone was covered up when the ramp was installed. Every building I’ve seen in this style and age had a cornerstone.
It is clearly not visible on the left side of the building. Which leads me to believe it was placed on the right side. Judging by the placement of the ramp, I’m guessing there had to be one here and it was covered up during the installation of the ramp. If someone out there has a pre-ramp photo of this building I’ve love to see it.
The second image is from Charlotte, Michigan, the bottom half of the cornerstone has been covered up. We can estimate the date of the building because we see the words William G McAdoo. Mr. McAdoo was the secretary of the treasury from 1913-1918. So the building most likely has a date in this range.
The third image is from Staunton, Illinois. This is another example of the cornerstone being covered up to make room for the ramp. Although we can still see most of it, I don’t believe this is how the original architect envisioned this part of the building.
Madison, Illinois, Shawano, Wisconsin, and Hart, Michigan, are example of railing that gets in the way of the cornerstone.
Cornerstones Deteriorating
The following cornerstones are examples of deterioration or neglect. Here are some examples of what I’ve seen.
During my visits in Tennessee, I discovered the Former Dickson post office is now privately owned. I found the building and cornerstone in disrepair. The first image below is what I observed during my visit.
The Chicago, Lakeview Station no doubt has been hit with a TON of salt during our brutal Chicago Winters. The building and cornerstone are really close to the street. Which would explain the slow deterioration of the limestone.
The former Naperville, Illinois post office building was purchased by the Naperville Bank & Trust Company. They did a wonderful job restoring and remodeling the building. But sadly it appears this did not include the cornerstone.
Other examples of deterioration and neglect include the former Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and Chicago, Otis Grant Collins Station and Chicago, Rosalind Station.
Cornerstones 1935 Date Only
The following examples are from 1935. Somehow they missed being inscribed with additional wording we see on other cornerstones.
Why they don’t have the rest of the lettering was a mystery to me until a reader of mine brought this to my attention. Here is what he had to say.
The 1935 block type cornerstone, vs others with full text, my only explanation is, I can not locate any actual wording provided by the government at the time as to why such occurred. my previous comment was about the 1935 emergency appropriation act by congress to create more work for the unemployed, something today we would consider the fast track. But with in the same year, there is also the full text cornerstones with the same date, 1935. With the last block type 1935 cornerstone, you sent, my collection stands at 24. There has to be a lot more of the block type out there. Source (Robert M.)
Cornerstones Other Examples
The following examples are corner stones from 1914, 1915 and 1917 respectively.
The following examples are from 1924 and 1925.
Corner Stone with Roman Numerals
And these are so old they have roman numbers to represent the date of the building.
I’m always in the process of researching cornerstones and adding to my collection. If you have something to add. We’d love to hear from you. Please head over to our contact page and share your findings.
Sources
- Personal visit and photographs by David W. Gates Jr.
- National Archives Records and Administration
- Research and emails sent from Robert M. – Thank you