The first United States Post Office in Seattle--and the first in King County--opened in 1853 in pioneer Arthur Armstrong Denny's (1822-1899) log cabin home on Front Street (now First Avenue) and Marion Street, with Denny named the first postmaster. Previously, all mail for Seattle and Alki was delivered once a week by canoe from Olympia. The Seattle Post Office lacked a permanent address for its first fifty years, until the Federal Building opened in 1909 at Third Avenue and Union Street. This ornate building, which had become too cramped and had also begun to deteriorate, was demolished in 1958 and replaced by the modern three-story facility still used today.
In this image the Seattle Post Master, George Starr, sitting at center, poses with his staff and station supervisors outside the Federal Station at 102 Federal Office Building.
Handwritten on image: U. S. Post Office - Seattle, Washington - Sept. 19, 1935. Post Master Geo. E. Starr & Supervisors Handwritten on image: Sessions Photo, Hollywood Handwritten on verso: First Row left to right: 1 Oscar Telquist, 2 Paul C. Barnard, 3 Richard Whitham, 4 Avery Miser, 5 Wilfred C. Krieg, 6 Leonard Metzger, 7 O. P. Hill, 8 Charles M. Perkins, 9 George E. Starr, P.M., 10 Bertha Allen, Sec., 11 Ray Wilson, 12 Emory T. Ringstad, 13 Fred Cupp, 14 Harry Hayden, 15 John Roberts, 16 Phil Knell, 17 Dr. Roberts. Second Row: 1 Dan Ragan, 2 Robert Robinson, 3 Ross G. McCausland, 5 Joseph Daly, 5 Fred Steylr, 6 Herbert McElroy, 7 Thomas E. Allen, 8 Ray Blackmer, 9 Peter E. Wills, 10 Thomas Ferguson, 11 Frank Young, 12 Wilfred C. King, 13 Frank Grimsdell, 14 Clifford Wiles, 15 C. H. Kelly. Back row: 1 W. F. Warmack, 2 H. A. Wise, 3 Wm. Hay, 4 Carl Donaldson, 5 George Luppold, 6 Pearl Rounder, 7 Wade Peterson, 8 John F. Daly, 9 Guy Thompson, 10 Albert V. Telquist, 11 Examiner of stations, Bill, 12 Wm. F. Harrison, 13 Ben Davis, 14 Frank La Fortune, 15 James Storer, 16 Sam Warren.
Caption information source: Polk, R. L. (Ed.). 1935. Seattle (Washington) City Directory. Seattle, WA: R. L. Polk, & Co., Inc.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : sepia ; 19.5 x 8 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv68076
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post Office Photographs, 1972.5319.50
