A lot of Brooklyn’s most beautiful buildings were built during the period from the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 to America’s entry into World War I in 1917. The General Post Office in Cadman Plaza, built during this period, is a shiny example of this period’s great creations. It is amazing to think that the US Post office wanted to destroy the magnificent and stately Romanesque Revival Post Office on Cadman Plaza near the Brooklyn Bridge. Built between 1891 and 1895, it is to my mind the most beautiful post office in New York City, now that the Farley Building is a train station. Designed by Mifflin E. Bell, a federal architect, it’s also one of the few old buildings to escape the wrecking ball when Cadman Plaza was formed in the 1950s — even though the Postal Service wanted a new facility. Francis Morrone points out that before the creation of Cadman Plaza, the area was cluttered with buildings that obstructed the view of this gem, which was a popular subject for early 20th century postcards. The structure is made of gray and red granite quarried in Maine in the basement and on the ground floor. The top floor is made of polished granite. It features a graceful tower rising from the building. The tower features at sharply pitched triangular roof, balconies and paired rounded windows on the second story. The ground floor of the building boasts graceful, rounded marble arches. These arches are decorated with rosettes and cable moldings and spring from carved posts with foliated motifs. Turret like towers rise from the Post Office’s central section. The second floor has rectangular windows with contrasting trim, while the third-floor features round-arch openings, creating symmetry without boring repetition of forms. A later addition in the 1930s is faithful to the original Bell design.