This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Johnson City Post Office, and to commemorate the occasion, the U.S. Postal Service is partnering with Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park to honor the building’s history and architectural significance. In 1968, President Johnson directed the General Services Administration to construct federal offices, to include a post office, in his hometown of Johnson City. He sought out the most influential architect in the state at the time—O’Neil Ford—to design it. Ford’s firm in San Antonio—Ford, Powell, and Carson—took on the job, with Bruce Sasse as the project leader. The building was completed in 1969, and today serves as a classic example of O’Neil Ford’s work.

Ford, the legendary founder of the eminent Ford, Powell & Carson architectural firm, had designed landmark projects such as the San Antonio Hemisphere’s Tower of the Americas and the campus of Trinity University in San Antonio. He shared a similar philosophy on the importance of beauty for the wellbeing of society with President Johnson and former First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson. At Lady Bird Johnson’s speech at the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects, she spoke about a “new conservation” in architecture that had “a concern for the total environment—not just the individual building but the entire community.”

Join us at the Johnson City Post Office on Saturday, October 26th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. to learn more about how the building’s rich past ties to the history of our local community, the Hill Country, and the nation. Remarks will begin at 2:15 p.m. and feature keynote speaker Dr. Kathryn O’Rourke, a historian of modern architecture and editor of the new book, O’Neil Ford on Architecture. Dr. O’Rourke teaches in the Urban Studies program at Trinity University and serves as the Secretary for the Society of Architectural Historians and Vice-Chair for the Board of Review of the Texas Historical Commission.

In conjunction with the event, Johnson City High School students have been asked to submit artwork

inspired by the Post Office; the artwork is currently on display at the Johnson City Library. All artwork will be on display at the event, where the Friends of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park will recognize the winning submission.

The October 26 commemorative event will be held on the front lawn of the post office, located at 201 S. Avenue G, across from Lyndon B. Johnson’s boyhood home. The program is offered free of charge. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held on the porch of the post office.