The United States Postal Service will open the doors to its new downtown retail location-the Peabody Place Postal Retail Center-on Monday, July 2. The new 4,070 sq. ft. facility, located on the south end of the Main Street at Peabody Place (next to Bank of America), will offer full postal services, including stamp sales, Priority and Express Mail shipping, passport services, and Post Office Box service.

"We are excited to offer this new location to our downtown postal customers," said Tom Pawlowski, Postmaster of Memphis. "It marks a new beginning for us," he added, "and we hope our customers will enjoy our new home."

The downtown Post Office that has been located at the historic Front Street location since 1885 will officially close on Saturday at its usual 1 p.m. closing time in order to make the move to its new location. This represents the first of several moves slated for this year as the building at 1 N. Front Street is eventually turned over to the University of Memphis for use as its law school as the result of an agreement reached last year between former senator Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Postmaster General John E. Potter and the University of Memphis.

The newly constructed retail center will be open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday; and closed on Sundays and holidays. Post Office Boxes and self-service stamp vending equipment in the lobby will be accessible from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday; from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday; and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

The Peabody Place Postal Retail Center, located between S. Main St. and Peabody Place, is accessible from Main Street as well as from sidewalk garden entry doors adjacent to the ground parking lot. A convenient Trolley Stop is also located adjacent to the Main Street entrance.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to cover its operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $73 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.