The building 's architectural style has been described as " Starved Classicism " and " PWA/WPA Moderne " . One writer has referred to the building as " Post-Quake Moderne , " due to the fact that the Moderne style of Art Deco architecture was prevalent as Long Beach was rebuilt after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake . In their book , " An architectural guidebook to Los Angeles , " architectural historians David Gebhard and Robert Winter described the Long Beach Main Post Office as " PWA Moderne , accomplished with restrained and sophisticated taste . " The proposal for the new main post office building was officially accepted in March 1931 , and the groundbreaking took place one year later in March 1932 . Construction was underway when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck the city . Construction was halted briefly , but work resumed a week later after a survey by contractors showed little damage . The scaffolding was removed from the structure at the end of July 1934 , and 5,000 persons attended the opening ceremony in September 1934 . The structure has been in continuous operation as a post office since 1934
1933 Long Beach earthquake
1933 Long Beach earthquake
Long Beach Main Post Office