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Advisory board outlines hurdles to restoring Los Alamos post office clock tower
Summary
Members of the Los Alamos County Historic Preservation Board reviewed outreach to the U.S. Postal Service and mapped steps for community-led efforts to restore the post office clock, citing federal facilities management, National Register status and limited USPS capacity as primary hurdles.
Members of the Los Alamos County Historic Preservation Board on a recent meeting reported progress and new constraints in efforts to restore a missing clock on the historic Los Alamos post office tower.
Board member Loretta, who led the outreach, said she spoke with the local postmaster and post office staff and that the office’s facilities are now managed by a regional facilities team in Albuquerque. Loretta said the post office staff told her “there’s no key here. We can’t go in there,” and that the local postmaster cautioned repairs or access requests can take many months because of the centralized facilities process.
The board heard that the post office is a listed historic property, which adds a second layer of approvals. “It’s a National Historic Building,” Loretta said, and work on historic features would need review by federal and state preservation authorities. Board members noted that returning a clock is more likely to be treated as historic restoration rather than new construction, but both the federal facilities process and the historic-preservation review could slow or complicate work.
Board members described practical next steps the board can take and what they cannot do under their advisory role. The board agreed to compile a one‑page summary of the research and contact pathways for community members who want to pursue restoration. The document will list what the board learned about access, historic‑review pathways and possible points of contact at the U.S. Postal Service and state preservation office.
Board members discussed possible avenues for the work: asking the U.S. Postal Service’s federal preservation officer or General Services Administration (GSA) to advise, requesting plans or drawings from the National Register nomination package, and involving local organizations such as the Los Alamos Historical Society to help research and, if willing, to lead fundraising or a contractor procurement effort. Loretta said the postmaster offered to take photos and provided contact information that could help clarify whether internal access exists to the tower.
Members underscored the limits of the board’s charge as an advisory body. The board will provide a research summary and suggested next steps to the interested citizen group that has requested the restoration; the board said it will not act as the implementing agency but can pass endorsed proposals to county council if residents secure plans, approvals or a contractor proposal.
The board also discussed practical constraints reported by USPS staff, including lengthy wait times for non‑urgent facilities fixes and examples where requests for repairs required many months to process. Board members advised community volunteers that pursuing restoration will likely require sustained effort and coordination with federal preservation officials rather than a single short push.
The board agreed that Loretta and Carrie will draft the one‑page summary of findings and pathways, share existing nomination/plan materials the board has located, and reach out to the Los Alamos Historical Society to see whether society staff or volunteers might research historical drawings or champion public outreach.
