Nashville Customs House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
1890s
1887
Postcard
1972
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Treasury architect William Appleton Potter's design of the Custom House so pleased Washington officials that it was chosen to be displayed at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia. Built in four sections, the center portion including the clock tower began in September of 1875. A rear portion, designed by Treasury architect, James Knox Taylor, was added in 1903. The wings, designed by James Wetmore, were added to the east and west ends of the structure in 1916. Its name was shortened to the Custom House and Post Office Building in 1906 and changed once again, in 1948, to the Federal Office Building.
Ownership was transferred in 1977 from the federal government to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County through the Historic Surplus Property Program. The current owner rehabilitated the building's interior.
Sources
Ward, Getahn. "Nashville risks losing historic U.S. Customs House." Tenneseean. April 21, 2016. http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/04/21/nashville-risks-losing-historic-us-cust...