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United States Custom House (New Orleans)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana
, also known as the Old Post Office and Custom House, is a National Historic Landmark
, receiving this designation in 1974 and noted for its Egyptian Revival columns. Construction on the building, designed to house multiple federal offices and store goods, began in 1848 and didn't finish until 1881 due to redesigns and the American Civil War
. The U.S. Customs offices have been located there since the late 19th century but are currently located elsewhere while the building undergoes further renovations.
In 2008, it became home to the Audubon Insectarium
, the largest free-standing American museum dedicated to insects.
and one of the major works of architecture commissioned by the federal government in the 19th century. This monumental granite building was begun in 1848 and built over a period of 33 years. The grand Marble Hall in the center of the building is one of the finest Greek Revival
interiors in the United States.
Located a few blocks from the Mississippi River
, the great waterway that enabled New Orleans to become an important port city, the U.S. Custom House was planned in the 1840s in response to increasing trade through the Mississippi Valley. The building was also designed to accommodate other Federal offices, most notably the main post office and federal courts.
In 1847, the Treasury Department
chose the design of Alexander Thompson Wood, and construction began in 1848. After Wood was replaced as architect in 1850, a succession of eight architects followed, each modifying the original design concept.
The partially completed building was first occupied in 1856 when the U.S. Customs Service
moved into the first floor. The post office followed in November 1860, and the building served as the city's main post office through the remainder of the 19th century. Although construction was suspended during the Civil War
, the building was occupied briefly by Confederate forces
and then by the Union Army
after New Orleans was occupied in 1862. It was also used to house captured Confederate soldiers, reportedly up to 2,000 men at one time.
Construction resumed in 1871, with the upper floor and roof plan and sections substantially revised under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect
of the Treasury, Alfred B. Mullett
(1834–1890), the designer of the Old Executive Office Building
in Washington, DC, and many other federal buildings nationwide. Construction of the U.S. Custom House was completed in 1881.
In 1916, the building underwent major interior renovations following the move of the post office and courts to a new facility on Lafayette Square. Interior offices were subdivided and corridors reconfigured. Over the years, mechanical and electrical systems and suspended ceilings were added.
; however, the entablature material is cast iron.
Each of the four facades is similar in design. In the center of each facade is a projecting pavilion
consisting of four round, fluted, modified Egyptian, engaged columns. The first floor of the structure is faced with rusticated granite stonework. The cast-iron entablature contains widely spaced triglyph
s (three vertical bands) in the frieze and dentils (small square blocks) in the cornice, and supports a triangular pediment above the central portico on each facade. Near both ends of each facade is a slightly projecting bay composed of four modified Egyptian pilasters supporting the entablature.
On the first story of the exterior of the U.S. Custom House are a series of blind (vacant) niches
, six on each facade. The original architect intended these niches to hold heroic statues of famous Americans. When the plans for the exterior were later simplified, the idea of installing statuary was abandoned.
The floor plan of the U.S. Custom House is arranged around an impressive Greek Revival room known as the Marble Hall, one of the first such rooms in the country. This room is ornamented with Corinthian columns that depict the heads of the mythological god Mercury, guardian of boundaries, commerce, and roads, and the goddess Luna, whose crescent moon-shaped brow symbolizes the city's location at the crescent bend of the Mississippi River. The columns support a full classical entablature with an ornamented cornice and floral cresting. A deep cove above the cornice supports a sophisticated geometrically composed skylight. Over the entrance at the North Peters Street end of the hall are sculptures depicting founder of New Orleans, Sier de Bienville; General Andrew Jackson; and the pelican, the traditional symbol of Louisiana.
In 1916, the building underwent major renovations following the move of the post office and courts to a new facility on Lafayette Square
. Recent GSA restoration efforts have successfully recaptured the historic appearance of the building, exposing original components, such as vaulted ceilings, and replicating missing or deteriorated interior elements and finishes, such as the skylight over the stairs.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, also known as the Old Post Office and Custom House, is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, receiving this designation in 1974 and noted for its Egyptian Revival columns. Construction on the building, designed to house multiple federal offices and store goods, began in 1848 and didn't finish until 1881 due to redesigns and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The U.S. Customs offices have been located there since the late 19th century but are currently located elsewhere while the building undergoes further renovations.
In 2008, it became home to the Audubon Insectarium
Audubon Insectarium
The Audubon Insectarium is an entomology museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. With more than 50 live exhibits and numerous multimedia elements, the facility is the largest free-standing American museum dedicated to insects.It opened in June 2008...
, the largest free-standing American museum dedicated to insects.
Building history
The U.S. Custom House in New Orleans is one of the oldest and most important federal buildings in the Southern United StatesSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and one of the major works of architecture commissioned by the federal government in the 19th century. This monumental granite building was begun in 1848 and built over a period of 33 years. The grand Marble Hall in the center of the building is one of the finest Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
interiors in the United States.
Located a few blocks from the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, the great waterway that enabled New Orleans to become an important port city, the U.S. Custom House was planned in the 1840s in response to increasing trade through the Mississippi Valley. The building was also designed to accommodate other Federal offices, most notably the main post office and federal courts.
In 1847, the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
chose the design of Alexander Thompson Wood, and construction began in 1848. After Wood was replaced as architect in 1850, a succession of eight architects followed, each modifying the original design concept.
The partially completed building was first occupied in 1856 when the U.S. Customs Service
United States Customs Service
Until March 2003, the United States Customs Service was an agency of the U.S. federal government that collected import tariffs and performed other selected border security duties.Before it was rolled into form part of the U.S...
moved into the first floor. The post office followed in November 1860, and the building served as the city's main post office through the remainder of the 19th century. Although construction was suspended during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the building was occupied briefly by Confederate forces
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and then by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
after New Orleans was occupied in 1862. It was also used to house captured Confederate soldiers, reportedly up to 2,000 men at one time.
Construction resumed in 1871, with the upper floor and roof plan and sections substantially revised under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect
Office of the Supervising Architect
The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
of the Treasury, Alfred B. Mullett
Alfred B. Mullett
Alfred Bult Mullett was an American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Supervising Architect, head of the agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings...
(1834–1890), the designer of the Old Executive Office Building
Old Executive Office Building
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building , formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building and as the State, War, and Navy Building, is an office building in Washington, D.C., just west of the White House...
in Washington, DC, and many other federal buildings nationwide. Construction of the U.S. Custom House was completed in 1881.
In 1916, the building underwent major interior renovations following the move of the post office and courts to a new facility on Lafayette Square. Interior offices were subdivided and corridors reconfigured. Over the years, mechanical and electrical systems and suspended ceilings were added.
Architecture
The impressive exterior of the U.S. Custom House retains its original design, which includes modified Greek and Egyptian Revival elements. The immense four-story building occupies the full trapezoidal downtown city block bounded by Canal, North Peters, Iberville, and Decatur Streets. Due to the shape of the lot, the corner of the building at Canal and North Peters Streets is rounded. The majority of the building is constructed of brick sheathed in gray granite from Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
; however, the entablature material is cast iron.
Each of the four facades is similar in design. In the center of each facade is a projecting pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
consisting of four round, fluted, modified Egyptian, engaged columns. The first floor of the structure is faced with rusticated granite stonework. The cast-iron entablature contains widely spaced triglyph
Triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one. The square recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric...
s (three vertical bands) in the frieze and dentils (small square blocks) in the cornice, and supports a triangular pediment above the central portico on each facade. Near both ends of each facade is a slightly projecting bay composed of four modified Egyptian pilasters supporting the entablature.
On the first story of the exterior of the U.S. Custom House are a series of blind (vacant) niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
, six on each facade. The original architect intended these niches to hold heroic statues of famous Americans. When the plans for the exterior were later simplified, the idea of installing statuary was abandoned.
The floor plan of the U.S. Custom House is arranged around an impressive Greek Revival room known as the Marble Hall, one of the first such rooms in the country. This room is ornamented with Corinthian columns that depict the heads of the mythological god Mercury, guardian of boundaries, commerce, and roads, and the goddess Luna, whose crescent moon-shaped brow symbolizes the city's location at the crescent bend of the Mississippi River. The columns support a full classical entablature with an ornamented cornice and floral cresting. A deep cove above the cornice supports a sophisticated geometrically composed skylight. Over the entrance at the North Peters Street end of the hall are sculptures depicting founder of New Orleans, Sier de Bienville; General Andrew Jackson; and the pelican, the traditional symbol of Louisiana.
In 1916, the building underwent major renovations following the move of the post office and courts to a new facility on Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square, New Orleans
Lafayette Square is the second oldest park in New Orleans, Louisiana and was designed in 1788 by Charles Laveau Trudeau alias Don Carlos Trudeau , general surveyor of Louisiana under the spanish government...
. Recent GSA restoration efforts have successfully recaptured the historic appearance of the building, exposing original components, such as vaulted ceilings, and replicating missing or deteriorated interior elements and finishes, such as the skylight over the stairs.
Significant events
- 1845: Congress appropriates $500 for the preparation of plans for a new U.S. Custom House and Construction begins.
- 1861: The start of the Civil War suspends construction of the U.S. Custom House and a temporary roof is put on the building.
- 1861-1865: During the war, the unfinished building is used to manufacture gun carriages for the Confederacy, as a Union headquarters, and as a Federal prison.
- 1871-1889: Under Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department Alfred B. Mullett, construction of the U.S. Custom House is completed.
- 1915-1916: The entire building is renovated.
- 1974: The U.S. Custom House is listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and designated a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. - 1975-1976: Congress authorizes $6,732,000 for a major renovation, as a contribution to the country's Bicentennial.
- 1993: A GSA rehabilitation and vacant space recapture project restores rooms and other interior elements to their pre-1916 condition.
- 2008: became home to the Audubon Insectarium
Building facts
- Architect: Alexander T. Wood, principal
- Construction Dates: 1848-1881
- Landmark Status: National Historic Landmark
- Location: 423 Canal Street
- Architectural Style: Modified Greek/Egyptian Revival
- Primary Materials: Gray Massachusetts granite over a steel frame, with a cast-iron entablature
- Prominent Feature: Marble Hall