Almost exactly a year and a half ago, La Jollans were commemorating the 75th anniversary of the La Jolla post office with a celebration that included closing down Wall Street as community members enjoyed insider tours of the building amid various festivities. The event — for which the La Jolla Historical Society unveiled a corresponding exhibit, “Postmark La Jolla: History of the U.S. Postal Service in La Jolla” — marked a partnership between the society and the United States Postal Service, as the two organizations worked together in honor of the building’s milestone birthday. Fast-forward 18 months, and the nature of that partnership has changed somewhat. As most La Jollans are well aware, the USPS announced plans earlier this year to close the La Jolla post office, located at 1140 Wall St., in light of its recent financial woes. Since the announcement, La Jollans have mobilized, garnering more than 1,000 signatures on a petition requesting the Postal Regulatory Commission change the status of the post office from a “relocation” to a “closure” (relocations, said Leslie Davis, head of the Save the La Jolla Post Office task force, have “less visibility and less process”). At a meeting of the task force on March 2, more work was done toward the ultimate goal of saving the La Jolla landmark. Davis, chairwoman of the La Jolla Historical Society’s Preservation Committee, headed the meeting, held at the society’s Balmer Annex. Davis discussed the next steps in keeping the community’s post office in the building in which it has been housed since 1935. The task force has outlined three plans under which the post office could be saved. Plan A would stop the closure and sale of the building, while Plan B would buy the property through a preservation fund and lease space back to the post office. Plan C would find a buyer who would preserve the building. Part of Plan A would involve securing a historic designation for the building from the state Office of Historic Preservation. The nomination for the designation, Davis said, went out by certified mail on March 1. The hope is that the state will accept the designation, which, Davis said, will make designation at the local level “virtually done.” And even if the designation doesn’t go through, she said, the nomination will buy the task force some time. “There are protections against [demolishing the building] during [the filing period],” she said. “It takes nine months, and the fact that this [nomination] has gone out should protect the building against imminent danger.” The group also discussed holding a community input meeting to give residents a chance to share their ideas for how the building could be preserved and used in the event it doesn’t continue operating in the exact same capacity. A packet containing details of the interior and exterior of the building is available on a disc or as a printout at the historical society’s office for a $5-$10 donation. “The purpose of the meeting would be to get input from a variety of potential stakeholders,” Davis said. “It would be to get a vision and inspiration for ideas for uses [of the building].” The meeting, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. (location to be determined), would take place prior to the community meeting with the U.S. Postal Service, the date for which has to be set by the U.S.P.S. and has not yet been scheduled. At a rally to save the post office on Feb. 4 at Wisteria Cottage, Davis addressed a crowd of more than 100. She pointed to one poignant reason for saving the post office: “The post office is much, much more than a post office,” she said. “It’s the heart of our community.” To sign the petition to save the post office, visit Warwick’s Bookstore (7812 Girard Ave.) or the La Jolla Historical Society (7846 Eads Ave.). For more information, visit www.savelajollapostoffice.org