United States Custom House

In a city full of landmarks, the United States Customs House remains one of the most prominent in terms of the role it has played in the economic development of the city and its striking architecture. It was built in 1934 and is the work of leading local architects Verus T. Ritter and Howell Lewis Shay, who operated the firm Ritter & Shay. An excellent example of Art Deco architecture, the building features a three-story, limestone base and a cruciform brick tower topped with a terra cotta lantern structure modeled on the ancient lantern at Greek Island of Rhodes. The building incorporates a variety of decorative details including arched windows and doorways, fluted pilasters, carved and brick inlay panels, large terra cotta urns and eagles, and diagonal-patterned terra cotta grillwork on the lantern. The interior features a large rotunda and 31 murals by artist George Harding depicting nautical themes. A number of federal agencies are housed in the building including the offices of the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Custom house operations have been integral to Philadelphia's economy since the 17th century. In those early years a Royal Collector of Customs was responsible for overseeing trade along 30 miles of the Delaware River. In 1789 (after the American Revolutionary War), the federal government established the Customs Bureau, which was in charge of assessing goods, collecting import duties, and preventing smuggling, espionage, and sabotage. One official, the Surveyor of Customs of the Port, managed the inspectors and reported when ships arrived. Another official, the Collector of Customs, oversaw collections and served as the comptroller. Philadelphia at this time was the new nation's capital and the only port entry for Pennsylvania.

There was no permanent location for a custom house, however, and customs officials worked in various rented office spaces. Finally in 1798, a room was rented in Congress Hall, and from 1802 to 1819 the custom house was located in Carpenter's Hall. The first permanent structure, a temple-designed wooden building, was built at Second and Dock Street in 1819. By the early 1840s, the building became too small so the government bought the Second Bank building in 1844 to be the new custom house.

The present Custom House building replaced it in 1934. It was originally designed as eight-stories tall but Ritter and Shay changed it to its current appearance to better match the architecture of the surrounding buildings. It housed the offices of other government agencies in addition to the customs office including the Bureau of Lighthouses, the Bureau of Steamboat Protection, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. The building was restored in the early 1990s and again in the early 2010s.

Kachmarsky, Erica et al. "United States Custom House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. December 31, 1984. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/11000310.pdf.