The 11 Most Beautiful Post Offices Around the World

From Algeria to Arizona, at these unique buildings you can drop off packages in architectural wonders

An interior view of the Postal Palace a turn of the century post office in Mexico City Mexico. Photographed on 27Jan2018

A post office in Mexico City.

The beauty of the post office is often in its function: It allows people to stay connected, no matter where they are around the world. Even so, post office design is not often given the same consideration as other public works, like palaces or parliament buildings. Anyone who’s shipped a package or letter knows that, in many cases, a mailing station is little more than a place to drop off letters and boxes with a few employees behind a desk. But that doesn’t mean beautiful post offices don’t exist. In Mexico City, for example, a central post office looks more like the home of royalty than a mailing center; in Germany, a post office actually is a palace—or at least is housed in a building where one used to be. Curious what other cities around the world are sorting mail in stunning settings? Below, AD surveys the 11 most beautiful post offices around the world.

Algeria

Designed by architects Jules Voinot and Marius Toudoire, the Algiers Central Post Office was constructed in 1910. A notable example of Moorish architecture, the building was converted into a museum about the history of the post and telecommunications in Algeria by the local government in 2015.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The yellow façade and green shutters of the Saigon Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City have turned the building into not only just a post office, but a popular tourist attraction. The structure was designed by Alfred Foulhoux in the late 1880s when Vietnam was part of French Indochina and hence features many elements of renaissance, gothic, and other French architectural styles.

Mexico City, Mexico

Appearing more like a royal palace than a post office, the Palacio de Correos de México is located in the historic center of Mexico City. The 1907 building is designed in an eclectic style that mixes Spanish rococo, Art Nouveau, plateresque, and Gothic Revival elements. Inside, intricate gilding and moulding offers a sophisticated touch for locals and visitors when dropping off packages.

Los Angeles, California

In 1937, the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency that employed Americans for public works projects, commissioned Claud Beelman to design a post office in Los Angeles. The result: a streamlined Art Deco masterpiece located along two of the city’s most iconic boulevards, Sunset and Hollywood. The building remains largely unchanged from when it was first designed, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Madrid, Spain

Called Palacio de Comunicaciones—which translates to “palace of communications”—this plateresque building certainly sorted and delivered mail within a grand structure. The building used to be the city’s main post office, though it now serves as a cultural center and a city hall.

Columbus, Indiana

Located in Columbus, Indiana, this post office designed by Kevin Roche was the first in the country where the architect’s fees were privately funded. Part of a long-standing project spearheaded by Cummins Engine Company, the structure is one of many modernist building designed by famous architects in the city. As Nancy Kriplen explains in her book J. Irwin Miller: The Shaping of an American Town, it took a congressional member from Indiana lobbying the then post master general to allow the small Hoosier town to break traditions and permit a private company to fund a public building.

New York City, New York

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” reads the inscription on the James A. Farely Post Office in New York City. The quote, which comes from Herodotus’ Histories, is frequently mistaken as an official motto of the US Postal Service. While not technically government sanctioned, its impact has made the sentence an unofficial creed.

Ragusa, Italy

Located in Ragusa, Sicily, the imposing, symmetrical façade of this post office is a prime example of imperial architecture. Francesco Fichera designed the building, while Corrado Vigni was responsible for the nine sculptures that top it. The structure is now designated as a Sicilian cultural heritage site.

Bonn, Germany

Located on the Münsterplatz, a plaza in Bonn, this yellow post office is full of charm. Known as the Main Post Office, it was the primary post office for the city from 1877 to 2008; prior to then it was used as a city palace for Franz Egon von Fürstenberg-Stammheim. In fact, some still call the building Fürstenberg Palace. Just in front of the structure is a statue of one of Bonn’s most famous residents: Ludwig van Beethoven.

Kolkata, India

As the central post office for Kolkata and the chief post office for West Bengal, the the Kolkata General Post Office is responsible for most of the mail coming in and out of the city. The neoclassical building dates back to 1864 and was designed by Walter B. Grenville, who worked as a consulting architect for India’s government.

Winslow, Arizona

Louis A. Simon, the architect for this adobe-inspired post office, dedicated most of his career to public works. Working at the Office of the Supervising Architect for for the US Treasury, he worked on multiple notable buildings throughout the country, including the IRS building and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Algeria

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mexico City, Mexico

Los Angeles, California

Madrid, Spain

Columbus, Indiana

New York City, New York

Ragusa, Italy

Bonn, Germany

Kolkata, India

Winslow, Arizona