Enriching Communities Through the Reuse of Dismantled United States Post Office Sites

With the advent of email and online bill pay, the United States Postal Service has found a decreasing demand for physical Post Office sites and has begun closing facilities nationwide, leaving behind thousands of uninhabited buildings. Looking to the near future, it is predicted that The United States Postal Service buildings across the country will be completely obsolete. In an effort to build sustainable landscapes, these spaces can be adaptively reused as markets showcasing local, artisanal items, and as coffee shops encouraging informal gathering. By promoting local economies while encouraging sustainability and healthy communities, the loss of historical U.S.P.S. institutions will be mitigated. This thesis will explore a closing U.S.P.S. site in the Washington, D.C. metro area to demonstrate this proposal in action and to serve as a prototype for other sites across the country.

Author

• Pierson, Widney

Language

• en

Keyword

• Community Markets
• USPS
• Coffee Shops
• United States Post Office
• Adaptive Reuse

Date created

• 2014

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Interior Design

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Bishop, Emily
• Healey, Jonathan

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/j098zb26m