In 1836, Congress passed a bill to erect a fire-proof building for the Departments of the Treasury and State. The original Treasury building was burned to the ground by the British in 1814, and the replacement building was again burned in 1833 by arsonists. The Postal headquarters, on the other hand, was still housed in a building that was not fire-proof with a shingle roof and much woodwork within. In 1836, the Postmaster General Amos Kendall reported that "its valuable books and papers are daily exposed to destruction". He could see "no good reason why the greatest possible security should not be given to its archives".
In 1836 the current Postal headquarters was moved to Fuller's Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue after a fireplace accident set the prior building on fire destroying thousands of paten models and records. The postal headquarters stayed there until a new General Post Office Building was built at 701 E Street. In In his 1836 Annual Address, President Andrew Jackson asked Congress to consider "providing a fire-proof building for the important books and papers of the Post Office Department",
"The expediency of providing a fire-proof building for the important books and papers of the Post Office Department is worthy of consideration. In the present condition of our Treasury it is neither necessary nor wise to leave essential public interests exposed to so much danger when they can so readily be made secure. There are weighty considerations in the location of a new building for that Department in favor of placing it near the other executive buildings."
The following year, President Martin Van Buren also urged Congress to consider the need to provide "a more safe and convenient building for the accommodation of that Department". Robert Mills was hired to design and oversee the construction of the new General Post Office. It was completed in 1842 and was the first ever building to serve as the postal headquarters was erected. The new U-shape building was one of the first gas-heated public buildings in the city and had central power, heating and lighting plants. And of course, it was fireproofed.
Here is the except from Van Buren's 1837 Annual Address:"For many interesting details I refer you to the report of the Postmaster-General, with the accompanying papers, Your particular attention is invited to the necessity of providing a more safe and convenient building for the accommodation of that Department."
References
“Seventh Annual Message.” Seventh Annual Message | The American Presidency Project, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/seventh-annual-message-2
“First Annual Message.” First Annual Message | The American Presidency Project, 5 Dec. 1837, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual-message-4
United States. Post Office Dept. Annual Report of the Postmaster General. Washington: U. S. Govt. Print. Off, pg 545
https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/headquarters-sites.pdf
https://home.treasury.gov/about/history/history-overview/history-of-the-treasury
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