U.S. Customhouse
About this property
The U.S. Custom house is a historic custom house in Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon. It was constructed to house offices of the United States Custom Service. It was built in 1898–1901 and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is slated to become the second Portland location of Industrious, a coworking space provider, in Spring 2022. The building was used for filming as the exterior of the Portland Police station in the NBC series Grimm. Fueled by Portland's economic development during the late 19th century, the U.S. Custom House was constructed to accommodate the city's burgeoning prosperity and status. In 1875, the U.S. Custom Service first established a presence in Portland, moving into the newly constructed U.S. Post Office, Courthouse, and Custom House building (now known as the Pioneer Courthouse). As the city outgrew the space, a new Federal building was planned to house the Custom Service and additional courtrooms. In 1898, construction began on the present U.S. Custom House, reaching completion in 1901. The building was designed in the office of James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, and constructed under the supervision of architect Edgar M. Lazarus. Lazarus is known for his designs for the Vista House at Crown Point and the Agricultural Palace for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (no longer extant). Together, Taylor and Lazarus brought the new Custom House to fruition in a style inspired by the English Renaissance architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries, with similarities to the mannered style that characterized London architect James Gibbs's public architecture. In 1938, the east and west wings gained fourth floors to accommodate additional office space. In 1968, when the U.S. Custom Service moved into the Old Post Office Building at 511 NW Broadway, the North Pacific Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers occupied the building, until they moved to a new location in December 2004. The building's scale and distinguished design aesthetically enhances its neighborhood and serves as an anchor on the margin of the North Park Blocks, a row of seven blocks originally intended as open space in the late 19th century. In 1970, upon the recommendation of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission, the City Council designated the U.S. Custom House as a Historic Landmark. In 1973, the U.S. Custom House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. After the US Custom was vacated in 2004 the Custom House was considered for an International School though ultimately this was determined not to be feasible and the Property was put up for auction. After an extended process the Property was purchased at auction by Eastern Real Estate LLC in March 2012 with a bid of $4.74 million, with the sale finalized in October 2012. In April 2015, WeWork announced plans to expand to Portland, leasing the Custom House for use as shared office space. In conjunction with WeWork's leasing the entire Custom House building the Property was renovated in phases and WeWork opened for business in 2017. The property was intricately restored under the dedicated guidance of local architect, Dick Kirschbaum, of GBD Architects. Eastern Real Estate sold the Property in Q4 2017 to a new owner. WeWork left the Customs House location in 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the massive protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, and the situation regarding homeless people in downtown Portland.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was U.S. Customhouse listed on the National Register?
U.S. Customhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1974.
What type of historic resource is U.S. Customhouse?
U.S. Customhouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for U.S. Customhouse?
The period of significance for U.S. Customhouse is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near U.S. Customhouse?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near U.S. Customhouse will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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