Lake Havasu City History: The Round Post Office

By Becky Maxedon

As the burgeoning community of Lake Havasu City grew, postal service was one of the first services to be established. 

At one point, the mail was transported by boat across Lake Havasu, delivered mid-trip to a waiting vessel.

Digitized photos provided by the Lake Havasu Museum of History show one of the early post offices in the city. One stood out as unique – it was round. 

Research shows that the round post office was not the first in Lake Havasu City. According to the U.S. Postal Service website, the first post office was established in Lake Havaus on April 1, 1966. 

However, another history site shows a photo of a piece of mail hand cancelled on Dec. 21, 1964, with a Lake Havasu City post mark.

The history of the dedication of the round post office is murky to say the least.

Another site stated, “… Lake Havasu City’s iconic early round building near Wheeler Park served as the community’s distinctive, circular post office during the city’s formative 1960s and 1970s development.”

It was part of the Central Plaza built as part of the planned community’s early commercial core near Wheeler Park and the civic fountain.

The site continues, “Widely cited in promotional and historical accounts from the era as a unique architectural focal point for the growing planned settlement.”

Even the Lake Havasu City Government website posts a photo of the iconic building and asks, “A very early picture of the Post Office in Lake Havasu City. If you know what year this is, post it in the comments.”

The digitized photos depict the dedication of the building but there is no date attached to any of them.

RiverScene Magazine is posting the photos here, celebrating the history of the city and asking that anyone with more concise information about the dedication and history of the building, please post on the story on the RSM Facebook page.