United States Custom House

The United States Custom House is a granite structure occupying an entire city block with four matching facades featuring Egyptian Revival columns topped with lotus-inspired capitals. The building combines architectural styles with granite construction that creates a fortress-like presence on Canal Street.

Construction began in 1848 and stretched across decades, with interruptions when Civil War soldiers occupied the building for both Confederate and Union forces. The extended timeline reflects the complexity of completing such a large federal project during a turbulent era.

The Marble Hall with its fourteen freestanding marble columns beneath a skylight represents the refined craftsmanship visitors encounter inside. People moving through this space today experience the same sense of scale and order that federal employees have known for generations.

The building remains an active federal facility housing government offices where customs operations continue today. Visitors should be aware that some interior areas may not be publicly accessible or may require security procedures to enter.

During its construction, only the Capitol building in Washington surpassed this structure in size across the entire nation. This fact underscores how central customs operations were to American commerce and federal priorities of that era.