Nothing comes easy in Cambridge.
In 1996 The USPS judged the current post office was not large enough to handle the volume of mail.
In 1998 the USPS solicited proposals for new sites … and 21 village properties responded “pick me, pick me”.
By Spring 1999 the list had been whittled to 3:
- SW corner of South Park and Avenue B
- Cornfield on west side of South Park (today bus garage)
- Old gas station on NE corner of North Park and Spring
#1 (where Pete Clark had his Shell gas station in the 1960s) was the USPS favorite but on 12-Apr-1999 Cambridge residents said “no, hell, no” to all 3 locations. They wanted it on Main Street.
Back to looking at how to make a new Post Office fit on East Main.
The post office I remember in the 1950s and 60s had a white house on the right (east) and a red house on the left (west). The new post office needed a large footprint and more parking.
By 1999 the white house was gone, and the owner of the empty lot was willing to sell.
The red house on the left was another story. Many residents were concerned about more demolition of history on Main Street.
What to do, what to do.
The back (newer portion) of the house was taken down in Aug-2000. After that, the front (historical portion) was declared unstable, and it too was taken down … around 6am on a Saturday!
Now, on to the “simple” part of the project … deciding what the new post office would look like.
Simple? In Cambridge? No way. The attached drawing shows the P.O. that was proposed and planned in mid-2000.
Ah, Cambridge. Nothing ever comes easy ;- )