Want to Buy a Post Office?

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the U.S. Postal Service plans to auction off Chicago's "incredible hulk," the massive old downtown post office.

The post office (shown above) used to be the largest postal facility in the country, with operations spread over 3-million-square-feet.

In another article that appears in the Chicago Tribune, postal service spokesman Mark Reynolds is quoted as saying, "While the suggested opening bid for the facility that spans the Eisenhower Expressway is $300,000, there is no minimum bid, and the facility could sell for less."

The Tribune report goes on to say, "The 14-story, 77-year-old building has been vacant since 1995 when the Postal Service moved to a new building on Harrison Street. Since then, ideas that have been floated for the space have included a casino, a water park and a hotel."

According to a write-up on the Wikipedia Web site, in 2004, the post office was used in the filming of Batman Begins and returned in 2007 for filming The Dark Knight. It doubled as the "Gotham National Bank" on one side of the building, and "Gotham Police Department" on another.

For more on the historic old post office, click here.