Two stories of brick at 2 Margin Street make up the US Post Office—Salem Main in Salem, Massachusetts. This two-story brick building is described as one of Salem's finest civic Colonial Revival buildings. It was built in 1932 to a design by Wenham-based architect Philip Horton Smith of Smith & Walker.
The roof follows a cross-gable plan, and the main entry sits on the long side of the building, topped by a decorated pedimented gable. Look at the first-floor windows: they are round-arched and slightly recessed; those on the second floor are rectangular. A line of granite marks the transition to the cornice at the top of the facade, and that cornice, along with the gable elements, features heavy dentil molding.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and it continues to serve as Salem's primary post office. Stand here a moment to take in the care of materials and classical details that give the place its civic presence. Notice the cross-gable roof, the pedimented gable, the round-arched windows, and the granite line beneath the dentil cornice.