 During the 1932-1942 era of post office construction, a large number of post offices and other federal buildings were built in New York.This surge was intended both to address the long-term need for new government facilities, as well as to employ out-of-work architects, engineers, artists, and other construction industry workers who were unemployed as a result of the Great Depression.The economic climate made it necessary to focus on functional design and a restraint in the amount of ornamentation used.