101-103 North Ann Arbor Street

Architectural Description: This is a one-story commercial building that is constructed of red brick and has a band of concrete at the cornice line. There are two storefronts with recessed entries at the north and south ends of the east-facing façade. Each entry has two sidelights and a transom above the door. Currently, Bill's Barber Shop occupies the south side of the building and CC Sweet House is located on the north side. Each business has a colorful awning that bears its name. These awnings conceal two horizontal bands of three windows underneath. There are two sets of identical, fixed large windows on the façade of the building, one set under each awning. A similar window is in the recessed area of each side of the building. When the entire building was a post office (from 1916-1939), there were two large plate glass windows on the façade and a tall narrow plate glass window was in each of the recesses, as shown in the historic photo.

History: Constructed in 1916, this was the first building that was designed specifically to function as a post office in Saline. While the building was under construction, the post office operated behind this location, in the rear of the Citizen’s Bank. At that time, the post office was open on Sunday mornings and the postmaster was on hand to pass out mail. The rural patrons found this to be very convenient when they came into the Village of Saline on Sunday to attend church. It was during this time that lock boxes first came into use. After the building was complete, in 1916, the post office continued to operate at this location on North Ann Arbor Street until 1939 (Saline Observer, February 16,1939).

Sources: "Historic District Study Committee Report for the North Ann Arbor Street Local Historic District." 2004

Kosky & Glynn Associates. "Historical and Architectural Survey." Saline, Michigan. 1994.

Saline Area Historical Society photos available through the Saline District Library - http://saline.lib.mi.us/

Saline Observer, February 16, 1939. Clark Historical Library Newspaper Collection. http://condor.cmich.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15076coll5.

Suggested Reading: McAlester, Virginia & Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1984.

Prepared by Lori Swick
April 17, 2013