Constructed at the turn of the 19th century, the Old Post Office building functioned as the town’s main post office until 1937. Today it is the Arvest Downtown Community Room. Originally, the façade displayed a traditional storefront of tall display windows, cast iron supportive columns—fashioned by the Neosho Foundry in Neosho, Missouri—transom windows, wooden bulkheads, and a recessed entry. The upper façade displayed a simply decorated brick cornice, similar to the cornice of 108 N. Broadway. 

Unfortunately, the façade has been unsympathetically renovated. The transom windows have been covered, the façade re-bricked (1980s), and the entrance rerouted to the east side of the storefront. The cast iron columns are its greatest relic of the past, it’s western column once sharing support with the lost two-story structure next door. Due to these alterations, this architecturally and socio-historically significant building is considered non-contributing by the National Register. Additionally, to the west of the old post office existed two two-story buildings that are no longer here with us today. 

For more information on this building’s history, contact the Siloam Springs Museum at Don@siloamspringsmuseum.com. For information on building improvement consultation, grants and tax credit opportunities, contact Main Street Siloam Springs at info@mainstreetsiloam.org. 

Old Post Office, c. 1900, Siloam Printing. 

Arvest Community Room, d. 2020, Main Street Siloam Springs.