National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – Question 8c.
Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.)
This means we need a paragraph on each of these topics:
Ethnic Heritage
Black (African American)
Politics / Government
Social History
Art
Politics / Government
The Coldwater Post Office was part of the New Public Works Programs, created within Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Specifically, the Post Office was created under the umbrella of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (1935) (renamed Work Projects Administration, 1939)
President Roosevelt created the WPA on May 6, 1935 with Executive Order No. 7034, under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. Harry Hopkins was the first administrator of the WPA, serving from July 1935 through December 1938.
The WPA was the largest and most diverse of the New Deal public works programs. It was created to alleviate the mass unemployment of the Great Depression and by the time it was terminated in 1943, the WPA had put 8.5 million Americans back to work.
The majority of WPA projects built infrastructure, such as bridges, airports, schools, parks, and water lines. In addition, the Federal Project Number One programs undertook theater, music, and visual arts projects, while other service programs supported historic preservation, library collections, and social science research. The WPA also employed women in sewing rooms and school classrooms and cafeterias, and in the later run-up to war it improved many military facilities.
The WPA employed people directly. A typical project began at the local level, with city and county governments assessing their needs and unemployment numbers. Proposals were thensent to a WPA state office for vetting before being forwarded to headquarters in Washington, D.C. and, finally, to the president for final approval. Projects could be rejected anywhere along this three-step process, and were not imposed on local communities by the Federal government. Normally, localities had to provide about 12-25% to trigger federal funding of WPA projects.
We know that by 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was employing approximately 350,000 African Americans annually, about 15% of its total workforce. In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) inserted a clause in all government construction contracts that established a quota for the hiring of black laborers based on the 1930 labor census and as a consequence a significant number of blacks received skilled employment on PWA projects. The Coldwater Post Office is a clear representation of this positive bias.
In 1939, after a federal government reorganization, the Works Progress Administration was renamed the “Work Projects Administration” and was placed under the newly created Federal Works Agency.
There is a copy of the speech given at the cornerstone ceremonies for this post office on June 10, 1940. It details much of what has been outlined above with respect to Coldwater specifically. Below are some relievent extracts from that document.
Under authority of the Emergency Construction Program, Act approved August 25, 1937, an allotment of $75,000 was made to include the cost of a site, erection and the administration of this project.
The building was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect, Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency.
Ethnic Heritage and Social History
On January 22, 1940, the Federal Works Agency awarded the construction contract to Mr. Samuel Plato of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, in the amount of $49,350, the building to be completed within 300 calendar days from date of receipt of notice to proceed.
The post office is one of the oldest institutions in our American. This service had its beginnings in the earliest Colonial days and in the three hundred years of its existence, it has been on of the most important influences in the development and progress of our country. It has been an indispensable aid to our commerce and to our business and social life in all periods of American history.
The Post Office Department is the one department that is older than the Government itself, that is, than our Government under our Constitution, it having been established by the Continental Congress before the adoption of the Constitution. It is the largest single business institution in the world and it is the only branch of our Government that reaches and is in intimate contact with all the people. Many of our citizens have no other contact with our Federal Government but through the post office.
Because of the fact that the postal service vitally touches the lives of all our citizens and affects the business of the nation, it must be maintained at a high degree of efficiency, must function with clock-work regularity and yet must be intensely human in its management. There is no other business, public or private, that to sue ha great extent renders personal service. Everything that is done in the postal service, all of the work that is performed, is personal service to individuals.
This new post office which is being constructed here will be the home of an establishment owned and managed by the people, an establishment in which they will place their most sacred and personal confidence and an establishment which will facilitate the transmission of their business, their correspondence, their papers and their merchandise. It will also be an institution that safeguards the people’s earnings and transits their money wherever desired.
I want to place emphasis upon the fact that it is the main purpose of the Postmaster General to render the best possible service to every one, rich or poor, and without regard to race, creed or color.
Black (African American)
In March 1907. William Wilson Cooke sat for and passed the three day federal civil service examination given at a site in Boston. He was not allowed to take the examination in the District of Columbia because of his race. He was told to report to work for the U.S. Treasury Department Supervising Architect’s Office. Unaware of his race, his arrival at the Treasury Department building in downtown Washington, D.C., caused quite a stir. His probationary appointment was as an architectural draftsman, making him the first African American to serve in a professional capacity in the Supervising Architect’s Office. He successfully served his six-month probationary term and on September 21 was permanently appointed an architectural draftsman. In 1909 Cooke was transferred to Field Operations, where he supervised the construction of federal courthouses and post offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and West Virginia. Cooke remained with the Supervising Architect’s Office until 1918, a relatively long time, eleven years. He was promoted and transferred to the War Department. From 1921 he was in private practice in Indiana. He obtained his state architect license on October 14, 1929, becoming the first of his race to be licensed to practice architecture in the state of Indiana. The Wall Street crash in 1929 put him out of business. In 1931 Cooke returned to the Supervising Architect’s Office as a construction engineer. He designed and supervised the construction of small-town post offices in Ohio (one of which was the Coldwater Post Office), Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He retired from federal service in 1942.
One of the African American contractors chosen by W.W. Cooke, was Samuel Plato.
The architecture of Samuel Plato is significant for many different reasons. The most prominent reason could be the success achieved by an African-American Architect in the early Twentieth Century. Samuel Plato turned to designing his own buildings and promoting himself after being turned away from most Caucasian-owned design and contracting companies. During the construction of his buildings, it was an unusual twist of fate that the very contractors which turned Plato down came to him seeking a job.
Samuel Plato was born in Waugh, Alabama, in 1882. His father was trained by a former slave and carpenter named Samuel Carter (Arts Indiana 24). Plato’s father had raised him to learn the craft of carpentry. To pay for college and train fare to the University in Louisville, Plato carved out wooden washboards, which he sold for $.25 each before heading off to college. Samuel initially wanted to study in the field of law, but soon his all-consuming interest was geared toward architecture and carpentry. While in college, he did much work repairing campus buildings to earn tuition and board. After graduating, Plato relocated to Marion, presumably to find work in the gas boom economy. Increasing numbers of people were flooding the area at this time; thus, houses and other public structures needed to be built. In his first few years in the Marion area, however, no contractor would hire him due to his race. His very first job was refinishing the stairs and trim in an eight room house. The owner, so impressed by his top-quality work, recommended him for two more jobs at other residences. From this point on, Plato had very little trouble finding work. Eventually, in the early 1920’s, Plato returned to Louisville where he continued his career as a productive, high-quality architect and craftsman. Plato was the first African American to be selected for the designing and contracting of federal buildings in the United States. In 1957, Samuel Plato died at home in Louisville.
The buildings designed and contracted by Plato are of great historical value due to their high quality of craftsmanship, authentic use of a multitude of styles, and their ability to defy age. One trademark evident in the buildings Plato designed are the simple yet beautiful windows, along with their placement. All Platonian buildings have finely crafted windows, and most have retained some, if not all of the original glass and casings. Plato learned the art of carpentry from his father, and his talent was evident in the construction of the cabinets, doors, and windows in his buildings. Plato’s styles range from bungalow, to Mediterranean, to Greek-revival, all are related by the superior craftsmanship and evident carpentry.
He was the first African American to receive a government contract to build a post office. He designed thirty-eight post offices in his career as well as churches, schools, banks, theaters, and housing.
He completed his education and began his career at a time when segregation and racism were major obstacles for African Americans who sought to pursue professional careers such as architecture. When Plato graduated from State University Normal School in Louisville in 1902 and completed his mail-order program in architecture with International Correspondence Schools, he became part of a small group of pioneering African American architects who made their mark early in the Twentieth Century.
Like other pioneers, Plato struggled against racism, helping pave the way for those who followed in his footsteps. During his early years in Marion, Indiana, he was successful in his fight to open up the building trade unions to African American workers. He was the first African American to be awarded a contract to build a post office, and he was one of only a few African American contractors to build federal government defense housing projects during World War II. Plato was successful because of his persistent efforts and because his reputation for quality and integrity could not be ignored.
Plato designed and/or built a wide variety of buildings, including Greek Revival and Craftsman-style houses, elegant mansions, post offices, banks, churches, schools, office buildings, theaters and government housing projects. Eight of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Broadway Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Louisville, Kentucky and the Pythian Temple in Columbus, Ohio.
Art