Morning View - James Farley Post Office

The James Farley Post Office was built in 1912 and is the main USPS location for NYC. Right now the future of the James Farley is in question, as long-standing plans to turn it into a new entrance and concourse for Penn Station have been put on hold due to the economic downturn. The plan is/was to build a new Madison Square Garden on the west side of the Farley and turn the post office into a grand above-ground train station to be called Moynihan Station, after the late U.S. senator from New York. (The current and fourth incarnation of Madison Square Garden sits across from the Farley atop the subterranean and spectacularly ugly Penn Station.) Barack Obama's federal stimulus plan may turn out to be the salvation of the original plan for the Farley. If you embiggen the photo you'll see that the "Future Home Of Moynihan Station" sign remains.

RELATED: Above the line of columns in this photo is the famous inscription: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." That line is derived from The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in which it refers to the mail service of the Persian Empire. Contrary to popular opinion, the quote is not the official motto of the USPS, as it has none.

(Photo credit: Dr. Jeff)