Saginaw Post Office

Saginaw Post Office. . , (Side 1) , In 1889, at the urging of Saginaw Congressman (later governor) Aaron Bliss, the Congress appropriated one hundred thousand dollars for the construction of a new federal building in Saginaw. During the next several years the project stalled as city leaders rejected two different sets of plans drawn by U. S. Treasury Department architects. Congressman William Linton, who represented the Saginaw district from 1893 to 1897, persuaded the government to draft a third design. William Aiken, the newly appointed supervising architect of the Treasury Department, submitted a final plan, which was enthusiastically approved by local officials in 1897. On May 11, 1897, Saginaw Postmaster A. G. Wall dug the first spade of dirt during ceremonies celebrating the start of construction. William Linton becam Saginaw's postmaster in 1898. , , (Side 2) , Inspired by Saginaw's French heritage, architect William M. Aiken designed this stately "French chateau" to house Saginaw's post office. Aiken once wrote that the corner towers represented the "defensive feature of frontier life." The building, which opened July 4, 1898, was built of Bedford limestone, ornamented with copper and topped with a red slate roof. The interior contains marble quarried in Colorado. In 1930 the post office faced demolition because of the need for a larger structure. Instead, it was extensively enlarged. Saginaw architect Carl Macomber doubled the building's size yet designed the addition to be compatible with the original structure. In the 1970s the county acquired the post office and rehabilitated it as the Castle Museum. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.