Lowell Post Office

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, the former U.S. Post Office is located at 89 Appleton Street.  Built by the federal government as Lowell’s Post Office in 1893, this building is one of  many in Lowell to have served as a post office through the years.  It is one of three imposing Richardsonian Romanesque structures built in Lowell during the early 1890’s, including City Hall (375 Merrimack Street; 1893) and the Pollard Memorial Library (401 Merrimack Street; 1893).

Richardsonian Romanesque was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for public and institutional buildings.  Named for influential Boston architect H.H. Richardson, other architects emulated his designs after his death in 1886.  This building is typical of the Richardsonian Romanesque style with rough-faced, square stonework while the wide, rounded arches and deeply recessed door and window openings are also characteristic of the style.
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The building served as a post office until 1933 when it relocated to the present day Federal Building on East Merrimack Street, now part of Middlesex Community College.  Later it housed the administrative offices for the Lowell School Department and ultimately sold by the City to a private developer who extensively restored and rehabilitated it to serve as a Juvenile Court which opened in May, 2001.

The building is also located within the National Register-listed Lowell National Historical Park & Preservation District as well as the Downtown Lowell Historic District under the design review and permitting jurisdiction of the Lowell Historic Board.