U.S. Customhouse
About this property
The U.S. Custom House or U.S. Customhouse is the custom house in Charleston, South Carolina. Construction began in 1852, but was interrupted in 1859 due to costs and the possibility of South Carolina's secession from the Union. After the Civil War, construction was restarted in 1870 and completed in 1879. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1974. It is also a contributing property of the Charleston Historic District. In the tense pre-Civil War period, the federal government felt that building a new custom house in Charleston to replace the Old Custom House would be a positive sign to South Carolina. A design competition with a US$300 prize was announced. About ten architects submitted entries. The four known entrants were three Charlestonian architects: Edward Brickell White, Edward C. Jones, and Peter H. Hammarskold and one Savannah, Georgia architect, John S. Norris. Noted New York architect, James Renwick submitted a late entry, which was returned. The commission judging the entries selected the Jones design and submitted the plans to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, DC. There was lobbying while the decision was being made. Robert Mills submitted plans to the Secretary. Eventually, Ammi Burnham Young was selected to produce a new design incorporating features of the four competitive entries. White was appointed the superintending architect. Jones, Hammarskold, Norris, and White were awarded US$200 for their entries. The final plans were for a two-story, cross-shaped building with an elevated, rusticated basement. It was to be 259 ft (79 m) from west to east and 152 ft (46 m) from north to south. The west and east arms had Roman porticoes supported by Corinthian limestone columns and steps down to grade. The north and south arms were porticoes. The walls had Corinthian engaged columns between the windows. There was a dome supported by Corinthian columns. The building was to be 160 ft (49 m) above grade. Except for the change from Doric to Corinthian order and for the high dome, the building bore resemblance to the Boston Customhouse that Young had recently designed. Land was purchased at Fitzsimons' Wharf at East Bay and Market. Construction started in 1853 under White's direction. Since the location was marshy, 7,000 piles that were 40 ft (12 m) long were driven into the sand and were cut off at grade. A grillage or network of timber was laid. and a thick bed of concrete was constructed for the foundation. The granite walls of the basement were finished by 1855. After the marble-faced walls were erected, the columns were begun in 1858.
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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 October 8, 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?
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