Columbus Mileposts | Oct. 21, 1884: Masons dedicate 'Old, Old Post Office' Downtown with wheat, wine and oil

The cornerstone of the “Old, Old Post Office” Downtown, now home to the Bricker & Eckler law firm, was laid on Oct. 21, 1884, before about 2,000 people.

The day before the ceremony, workers took down part of a high wooden construction fence so that people could see the program. The Ohio State Journal noted that the fence protected the building’s ornate carved stones, which were worth as much as $100 apiece, from damage and theft.

The Masonic Grand Lodge of Ohio, meeting in Columbus, conducted the ceremony. Led by a band, Masons marched from City Hall to the construction site, at the southeast corner of S. 3rd and State streets.

Copies of the city’s six newspapers, including the German-language Sonntagsgast, were placed in the cornerstone, as was an 1884 silver dollar, nickel and dime. Only a few thousand half dollars and quarters were produced in 1884, so coins of other dates were substituted.

During the ceremony, the cornerstone was tested with a square, plumb and level, which are Masonic symbols. Grand Master of Ohio Joseph McKendree Goodspeed declared that the work had been done well.

He then poured wheat, a symbol of plenty; wine, a symbol of joy; and oil, a symbol of peace, on the stone before striking it three times with a mallet.

The Romanesque revival/High Victorian Gothic “Old, Old Post Office” was home to the Downtown post office until 1937, when the office moved to the then-new federal courthouse at 85 Marconi Blvd. — called the “Old Post Office.” In 1968, the current main post office opened on Twin Rivers Drive.

The building at 3rd and State streets housed various federal government offices until 1983. The city bought it and entered into a long-term lease with Bricker & Eckler, which spent $13 million renovating the building.

In 1986, an estimated 3,000 people attended the rededication of the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Suggestions for Mileposts that will run this bicentennial year can be sent to Gerald Tebben, Box 82125, Columbus, OH 43202, or email gtebben@columbus.rr.com.