page_title: Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
section_title: Planning and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House / History / Planning and construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Merchant's Exchange, New York
context_page_description: The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a custom house erected in 1902–1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the Port of New York. Designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, it is at 1 Bowling Green in the Financial District near the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City, roughly on the same spot as Fort Amsterdam and Government House.
  The Custom House was proposed in 1889 as a replacement for the previous New York Custom House at 55 Wall Street. Due to various disagreements, the Bowling Green Custom House was not approved until 1899; Gilbert was selected as an architect following a competition. The building was officially opened in 1907, and the murals in the rotunda were added during a Works Progress Administration project in 1938. The United States Customs Service moved out of the building in 1974, and it sat abandoned for over a decade until renovations in the late 1980s. In 1990, the Custom House was renamed to commemorate Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and its first Secretary of the Treasury.
context_section_description: In February 1888, William J. Fryer Jr., superintendent of repairs of New York City's federal-government buildings, wrote to the United States Department of the Treasury's Supervising Architect about the "old, damp, ill-lighted, badly ventilated" quarters there. Architecture and Building magazine called the letter "worthy of thoughtful investigation".  In the mid-19th century, the custom house's Wall Street location had been optimal because it was close to the Subtreasury, thereby making it easy to transport gold, but by the end of the century, it was easier to use a check or certificate to make payments on revenue. On September 14, 1888, Congress passed an act that would allow site selection for a new custom house and appraiser's warehouse. Soon after, Fryer presented his report to the New York State Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber said in 1889 that "We have not seriously considered the removal of the present Custom House proper, since it is well located, and, if found inadequate, can easily be easily be enlarged to meet all the wants of the Government for an indefinite time to come."
caption: The Merchants' Exchange Building served as New York City's custom house before the Alexander Hamilton Custom House was built.
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