Historic Property #1: 515 Main Street; Historic WPA Placerville Post Office

Year Built: 1939-1940

Architect: Louis A. Simon

Builder: PWA

Architectural Style: Art Deco

The Placerville Post Office, a significant historical landmark at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Main Street, is a concrete, box-like structure reflecting the architectural simplicity common in Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. Following World War I, these programs aimed to address unemployment and improve infrastructure. Constructed between 1939 and 1940 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal WPA, the building was designed by Louis A. Simon, a U.S. Treasury architect known for his standardized post office designs, and shares a twin design with the Ukiah, CA post office. Its architectural features, typical of the era, emphasize functionality and durability, while incorporating stylized Art Deco ornamentation.

Placerville Post Office, Circa 1945

Key architectural elements include its solid concrete construction, which was often paired with stucco, smooth-faced stone, and terra cotta, reflecting the era's embrace of industrial technology. The building exhibits a low-relief panel of stars and an eagle over the front entrance, as well as a simple geometric pattern over the front awning, and geometric art deco ironwork over the windows, adding a touch of elegance and creating a sense of modernity and forward-thinking design. The robust, almost fortress-like appearance is further accentuated by the original vault, with its heavy steel door, now repurposed to showcase the George Wheeldon gem and mineral collection. Inside, above the former postmaster's office door, hangs a prized 1941 oil-on-canvas mural, "Institute of Forest Genetics," by California Artist, Tom E. Lewis. This artwork, commissioned by the Federal Works Treasury Section of Fine Arts, depicts the local lumbering industry and commemorates the Institute of Forest Genetics in Camino. The mural remains the property of the federal government.

The building, later retired as a post office and converted to the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently owned by El Dorado Gold 1848, a non-profit organization, which leases subsidized office space to local non-profits at the basement level. The building also houses the Marilynn Ferguson Community Research Center and Library, honoring the late local historian who lived in a historic home on Bedford Avenue. El Dorado Gold 1848 plans to establish a museum focused on the county's geology, history, and local culture within the building.