Description of Historic Place

The Penticton Post Office is a striking brick and stone Art Deco building located on the east side of Main Street on a prominent corner lot.

Heritage Value

The Penticton Post Office is valued as a landmark building in the centre of the Main Street commercial district. It is symbolic of the federal government presence in Penticton, originally housing not only the post office, but customs offices and other federal agencies from 1936 to 1979.

It is sited to take advantage of the prominent corner lot on Main Street and complemented other brick buildings on Main Street, many of which have been lost. Designed by Penticton's most notable architect, Robert Lyon, the Penticton Post Office was a prototype for the Art Deco architectural movement in the Okanagan. It is a two-storey structure with a corner clock tower and four bays on the east and north facades, divided by brick pilasters. There is a concrete cornice with a dentil course. The arched windows in the clock tower are framed with cut stone, while each of the bays contains six double-hung windows divided by strongly defined concrete partitions.

The architecture of the Penticton Post Office reflects a time of economic confidence and growth in Penticton, despite the impacts of the Great Depression on other parts of the country. Its refurbishment in 1989 as private offices reflects the rebirth of Main Street as a significant business district.

Source: City of Penticton Civic File for: 301 Main Street

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Penticton Post Office include:
- its two-storey height and symetrical form, featuring four bays on each of the two principal facades, defined by brick pilasters and regular fenestration
- clock tower with two clocks
- the well-crafted red brick detailing
- the use of cut stone on the tower
- the use of concrete on the cornice and around the windows
- the prominent corner location
- the architecturally sympathetic additions in the 1940s