Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. . This complex of two buildings - the former federal building and post office - represent the best examples of federal architecture in Wenatchee., The first federal building was built in 1917 at the corner of Yakima and Mission. It housed the post office until 1937 when the second building was constructed. The first building then became known as the post office annex and housed many federal offices, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The basement of the annex building, filled with giant refrigerators and laboratories, bears silent witness to the pioneering research done in North Central Washington in the field of controlled atmosphere storage., Both buildings are excellent representations of federal architecture. A fiercely protective eagle is over the main entry to the museum., The buildings were purchased in October of 1975 by the City of Wenatchee for the new home of the North Central Washington Museum. Later changes included a skywalk to connect the buildings, enlarging areas for an art gallery and the Heritage Reference Center, Central Washington's main repository of historic artifacts., In 2001 the museum changed its name to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center., Both the post office and the annex are listed on the Wenatchee and National Registers of Historic Places.