During the Great Depression the Public Works Administration often used Art Deco elements in a primarily classical and monumental framework. The Visalia Town Center US Post Office thus presages the style and aesthetic of much subsequent government architecture in the thirties. This style of architecture was commonly used in private projects in the 1920s and is often associated with decadently luxurious shops and hotels, though by the time the Town Center Post Office was built the Depression had halted most of these private projects. Although the Visalia Post Office uses Art Deco ornamental motifs, the structure is more of a monolithic monument than a pretty piece of art, a characteristic typical of Government construction in the period in which it was built.
