AT 12: The Post Office & Its Carpenter

Alexander Howard, a skilled carpenter and postmaster, built Naperville’s first post office, which also served as the Howard family’s home. The building reflects the Greek Revival style, the most popular architectural style at the time of its construction in the 1830s. The building is simple with only a hint of Greek Revival influence, including: -A front-facing gable roof, meaning the entrance is on the triangular end wall in between the sloping edges of the roof. -A wide band of trim within the gable roofline. The porch windows and the porch itself were later additions around 1860 and represent different architectural styles: -The long windows on the porch are a feature of the Early Classical Revival style, a rarely seen style after the American Revolution that placed an emphasis on the wall and its separate parts. -The one story wrap-around porch with flattened arches is a typical trademark of the Gothic Revival style, a style that sought to revive medieval European Gothic architecture.