Bricks & mortar.

• Position: Brief article

The U.S. government's first project in the South after the Civil War, the old Federal Building in Raleigh was finished in 1879 at a cost of $400,000- The Second Empire-style structure housed government offices until they outgrew it, but the post office never left. That was set to change July 15, when the U.S. Postal Service planned to close its branch in the...