Kay waited in line ahead of Parkinson in her hiking boots, her grey hair pulled back with a clip. She didn\u2019t want to share her last name. She\u2019s a fan of General Delivery, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Kay said. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to safely get your mail. And you don\u2019t have to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
General Delivery is a free service. To get their mail, patrons slip their IDs through a small hole in the thick plexiglass window. A USPS clerk inside searches for their mail and delivers stacks of letters and packages through a small, transparent door on one side of the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore post offices did delivery, this was the original way,\u201d Kay said.<\/p>\n
Formed in 1775, the postal system predates the U.S. But free home delivery didn\u2019t start in cities until the 1860s, and began even later in rural areas. So for decades, people went to the post office to pick up their mail. General Delivery service has evolved since.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, the General Delivery is in the main post office for a city,\u201d Kay said. \u201cHere, it\u2019s kind of unique. It\u2019s the first one I\u2019ve ever seen like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because standalone General Delivery locations like this one are rare. In most parts of the United States, General Delivery is a service offered at designated post offices, not an entire dedicated branch.<\/p>\n
In the Tenderloin, its services are in demand; the district is home to nearly 2000 unhoused residents. General Delivery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. And from the moment this post office opens, it is busy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like nonstop,\u201d USPS clerk Robert Tapia said. \u201cEver since I opened the door, it\u2019s like no break, nonstop, keep going and going and going.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Tapia is 44, and his freckled face is quick to smile. He described the types of mail that patrons commonly receive here: IDs, bills, phones and more.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, from the first of the month, it\u2019s checks,\u201d Tapia said. \u201cLike social security checks. And if it\u2019s not here, I have to be able to tell them it hasn\u2019t arrived yet. It feels bad \u2018cause I want to give them their mail. And I know they could be homeless, and they depend on the money.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/260310-UnhousedMail-04-BL_qed.jpg\")