10/19/2026
Memory Monday - Downtown Post Office
This month marks the 93rd anniversary of the Downtown Clearwater Post Office!
The Cleveland Street Post Office, located at 650 Cleveland Street, was opened on October 9th, 1933, as the city’s first government run post office. The building was dedicated by Postmaster General James A. Farley. The local postmaster at the time was Charles R. Lee.
This Mediterranean-Revival architectural style building was designed by Clearwater architect Theodore H. Skinner and built by the Walt and Sinclair construction firm of Palm Beach, Florida. It is representative of the 1930s Federal Works Projects that reflected regional design influence and commissioned local professionals and industries. The exterior finish of the building is öolitic limestone, quarried in the Florida Keys.
The post office was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1980.
With the increase of e-mail and electronic business, the postal service was struggling financially in the early 2000s. As a cost-cutting measure, several post office branches were being considered for closure, including three locations in the City of Clearwater that included Downtown Clearwater branch. Congressman C.W. Bill Young (1930-2013) lobbied to keep the historic branch open and on December 15, 2009, U.S. postal officials announced that the Downtown Clearwater Post Office would be spared.
For almost 100 years the grand dame at the corner of Cleveland Street and East Avenue lives on to write another page in Clearwater’s history books. The post office is still operational today and offers mail and package delivery services, P.O. Box services, and passport services.
