United States Customhouse (Portland, Maine)
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Customhouse at Portland, Maine is a historic custom house
located in Cumberland County, Maine
. It was built to house offices of the United States Customs Service
at Portland, Maine
, a port of entry
for the United States
.
, Supervising Architect
of the Treasury from 1865 to 1874. Constructed between 1867 and 1872, the U.S. Custom House combines elements of the Second Empire and Renaissance Revival styles. The need for the new U.S. Custom House was exacerbated by the Great Fire of July 4, 1866
. The fire destroyed the Exchange Building—which had previously housed the customs office, post office and courts—as well as 1,800 other buildings in the center of the city.
Although federal funds for the construction of buildings were limited during the post-Civil War
period, the importance of maintaining Portland's customs business and rebuilding the city mandated the construction of the new government facility. Plans for designing the new U.S. Custom House were completed in 1866. Mullett was commissioned to design the new building, as well as a new post office and courthouse (no longer extant). Construction took five years to complete amid delays in obtaining granite for the upper stories.
The U.S. Custom House is the best remaining example of Mullett's work in the state of Maine and continues to serve its original function. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973.
The building rests on a sloping lot that forms an embankment along the sides and the Fore Street entrance of the building. A heavy cast-iron railing, designed of tangent ovals, rests on top of the embankment. The basement level is accented with a rusticated granite exterior finish.
The U.S. Custom House has a shallow I-shaped plan, with projecting pedimented entry pavilions on the Fore Street and Commercial Street facades. The entire building is dominated by large and handsome rhythmic, round-headed windows with simple keystones. The window openings are flanked by engaged Doric columns
on the first and second stories. Square pilasters mark the corners of the pavilions and the facades. A cornice and balustrade surround the entire building. The cornice features ornamental triglyph
s (three vertical bands separated by V-shaped grooves).
Distinctive twin, square cupola
s rise above the pedimented pavilions. Double Corinthian order
pilaster
s flank arched Venetian windows, each of which is capped with a shallow pediment
. The cupolas' distinctive mansard roof
s are a defining feature of the Second Empire style.
The building is organized around the grand two-story customs hall, which is the building's public showplace and occupies the central portions of the first and second floors. The marble floor of the hall is laid with a sophisticated checkerboard pattern. Two counters run the length of the room and are fashioned of several different types of marble that were quarried on an island in Lake Champlain
. These include a dark veined marble for the base; a red variegated marble for the pilasters, cornice and panels; a jet-black marble for the beading around the panels; and a dove-gray marble for the counters. Encircling the hall at the second floor is a narrow gallery with a decorative iron rail. The gallery is ornamented with symbols relating to commerce in the United States, including corn and tobacco leaf motifs and dolphins flanked by oak and olive leaves.
The ceiling of the customs hall is highly ornamented. A large plaster cove rises from the second-floor openings to an elaborate plaster cornice
and coffered ceiling. Groin (cross) vaults over each second floor-opening extend from the cove, and the ceiling beams are decorated with a Greek key pattern and bosses (elaborate joints) at beam intersections.
An eight-foot, walnut, pedestal-mounted counter capped with a spherical clock stands at the center of the customs hall. The counter contains an octagonal writing surface decorated with flutes, bosses, a collar, and modified Ionic order
scrolls.
The original walnut woodwork is still intact throughout the building, as are the Italian marble fireplaces in the offices located at both ends of the building. The offices, which are more simply designed than the main hall, consist of plaster walls, and walnut baseboards, window surrounds, and doors.
The U.S. Custom House has experienced only minor changes since it was constructed, and therefore exhibits a high degree of architectural integrity. The most notable alteration to the structure has occurred in the interior customs hall, where the original gas chandeliers have been replaced with the current surface-mounted ceiling fixtures. The basement was converted into office and dormitory space for the U.S. Coast Guard
in 1983. The majority of the building's distinctive elements, such as the marbled checkerboard floor and decorative staircases, remain in place. In 1998, the aluminum doors, which were installed during the 1960s at the main entrances, were replaced with wooden doors similar in design and color to the original doors to the building.
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
located in Cumberland County, Maine
Cumberland County, Maine
Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland, and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the...
. It was built to house offices of the United States 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...
at Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, a port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Building history
Located near Portland's waterfront, the U.S. Custom House is a testament to the city's maritime history. It was built to accommodate the city's growing customs business, which, by 1866, was collecting $900,000 annually in customs duties - making Portland one of the most significant seaports in the country. The building is typical of the notable designs completed under the direction of Alfred B. MullettAlfred 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...
, 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 from 1865 to 1874. Constructed between 1867 and 1872, the U.S. Custom House combines elements of the Second Empire and Renaissance Revival styles. The need for the new U.S. Custom House was exacerbated by the Great Fire of July 4, 1866
1866 Great Fire of Portland, Maine
The Great Fire of Portland, Maine occurred on July 4, 1866 — the first Independence Day after the end of the American Civil War. Five years before the Great Chicago Fire, this was the greatest fire yet seen in an American city. It started in a boat house on Commercial Street, likely caused by...
. The fire destroyed the Exchange Building—which had previously housed the customs office, post office and courts—as well as 1,800 other buildings in the center of the city.
Although federal funds for the construction of buildings were limited during the post-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...
period, the importance of maintaining Portland's customs business and rebuilding the city mandated the construction of the new government facility. Plans for designing the new U.S. Custom House were completed in 1866. Mullett was commissioned to design the new building, as well as a new post office and courthouse (no longer extant). Construction took five years to complete amid delays in obtaining granite for the upper stories.
The U.S. Custom House is the best remaining example of Mullett's work in the state of Maine and continues to serve its original function. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973.
Architecture
The U.S. Custom House is a skillful blend of the Renaissance Revival and Second Empire styles, which were popular in the United States during the mid- to late 19th century. Its original design is largely intact. The three-story, free-standing, I-shaped structure is constructed of New Hampshire granite with a slate-shingled hipped roof. These fireproof materials were chosen in response to the 1866 fire.The building rests on a sloping lot that forms an embankment along the sides and the Fore Street entrance of the building. A heavy cast-iron railing, designed of tangent ovals, rests on top of the embankment. The basement level is accented with a rusticated granite exterior finish.
The U.S. Custom House has a shallow I-shaped plan, with projecting pedimented entry pavilions on the Fore Street and Commercial Street facades. The entire building is dominated by large and handsome rhythmic, round-headed windows with simple keystones. The window openings are flanked by engaged Doric columns
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
on the first and second stories. Square pilasters mark the corners of the pavilions and the facades. A cornice and balustrade surround the entire building. The cornice features ornamental 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 separated by V-shaped grooves).
Distinctive twin, square cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
s rise above the pedimented pavilions. Double Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s flank arched Venetian windows, each of which is capped with a shallow pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The cupolas' distinctive mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
s are a defining feature of the Second Empire style.
The building is organized around the grand two-story customs hall, which is the building's public showplace and occupies the central portions of the first and second floors. The marble floor of the hall is laid with a sophisticated checkerboard pattern. Two counters run the length of the room and are fashioned of several different types of marble that were quarried on an island in Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
. These include a dark veined marble for the base; a red variegated marble for the pilasters, cornice and panels; a jet-black marble for the beading around the panels; and a dove-gray marble for the counters. Encircling the hall at the second floor is a narrow gallery with a decorative iron rail. The gallery is ornamented with symbols relating to commerce in the United States, including corn and tobacco leaf motifs and dolphins flanked by oak and olive leaves.
The ceiling of the customs hall is highly ornamented. A large plaster cove rises from the second-floor openings to an elaborate plaster cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and coffered ceiling. Groin (cross) vaults over each second floor-opening extend from the cove, and the ceiling beams are decorated with a Greek key pattern and bosses (elaborate joints) at beam intersections.
An eight-foot, walnut, pedestal-mounted counter capped with a spherical clock stands at the center of the customs hall. The counter contains an octagonal writing surface decorated with flutes, bosses, a collar, and modified Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
scrolls.
The original walnut woodwork is still intact throughout the building, as are the Italian marble fireplaces in the offices located at both ends of the building. The offices, which are more simply designed than the main hall, consist of plaster walls, and walnut baseboards, window surrounds, and doors.
The U.S. Custom House has experienced only minor changes since it was constructed, and therefore exhibits a high degree of architectural integrity. The most notable alteration to the structure has occurred in the interior customs hall, where the original gas chandeliers have been replaced with the current surface-mounted ceiling fixtures. The basement was converted into office and dormitory space for the U.S. Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
in 1983. The majority of the building's distinctive elements, such as the marbled checkerboard floor and decorative staircases, remain in place. In 1998, the aluminum doors, which were installed during the 1960s at the main entrances, were replaced with wooden doors similar in design and color to the original doors to the building.
Significant events
- 1866: Supervising Architect of the Treasury, Alfred B. Mullet, designs the U.S. Custom House.
- 1867-1872: The U.S. Custom House is constructed.
- 1950s: The U.S. General Services Administration acquires the building.
- 1973: 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...
. - 1983: The basement is converted into office and dormitory space for the U.S. Coast Guard.
- 1998: Restoration of the building begins with restoration of the entrance to replicate its original appearance.
Building facts
- Architect: Alfred B. Mullett, Supervising Architect of the Treasury
- Construction Dates: 1867-1872
- Landmark Status: 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...
- Location: 312 Fore Street, Portland, Maine
- Architectural Style: Second Empire/Renaissance Revival
- Primary Materials: New Hampshire granite and slate tile roof
- Prominent Feature: Customs Hall