A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting customs duty on imported goods. A custom house was typically located in a seaport or in a city on a major river, with access to an ocean. These cities acted as ports of entry into a country.
8-577: The New London Custom House is a historic custom house at 150 Bank Street in New London, Connecticut , built in 1833-35. It was designed by Robert Mills , one of the country's first formally trained architects. From 1839-40, the schooner La Amistad , on which captured Africans meant for the slave trade rebelled, was impounded at a wharf behind the customhouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture in 1970, and
16-403: Is now a local museum covering the city's maritime history. The New London Custom House is located on New London's waterfront, facing north onto Bank Street east of its junction with Pearl Street. It is a three-story masonry structure, built out of dressed granite of differing colors. Due to sloping terrain, it presents two stories to Bank Street and three to Water Street, which separates it from
24-534: The Amistad affair , the history of the Robert Mills building, and regional lighthouses. The Frank L. McGuire Maritime Library consists of more than 2,300 books, charts, maps, and prints. The Society also owns the nearby New London Harbor Light , the offshore Race Rock Light , and New London Ledge Light , and it operates tours of all three. Custom house Due to advances in electronic information systems,
32-858: The George Gustav Heye Center ) presently houses a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian , the former U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana , is now home to the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium , the former U.S. Custom House in San Francisco, California , now houses offices of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Social Security Administration and the former U.S. Custom House in Baltimore, Maryland ,
40-460: The increased volume of international trade, and the introduction of air travel, the term "custom house" became a historical anachronism. There are many examples of buildings around the world that were formerly used as custom houses but have since been converted for other uses, such as museums or civic buildings. As examples, the former Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York , (now
48-482: The waterfront. It has corner pilasters shaped out of light granite, and its main entrance is sheltered by a porch with round columns and pilasters made of more smoothly finished light granite. A stringcourse of light granite separates the upper floors, and the top-floor windows have projecting cornices over the lintels. The door is fashioned out of wood that was once used in the USS Constitution . The custom house
56-740: Was built in 1833 to a design by Robert Mills , who was then employed by the federal government. The granite for its construction was taken from the Millstone Quarry in Waterford, Connecticut . The building was still in use as a customs office at the time of its National Register listing in 1970. It now serves as the headquarters of the New London Maritime Society, which operates it as the Custom House Maritime Museum . Exhibits include New London's maritime history, ship models,
64-559: Was in 1973 serving as a Selective Service office. As of 2019 , the Custom House of Valletta in Malta was still being used for its original purpose. Custom Houses became a prominent feature of English ports after 1275, following the creation of a national system for collecting duties on overseas trade. In the United Kingdom , since 1386, the phrase "custom house" has been in use over
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