The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-10-26

| "o'"nu ny government ana occupied Tor tn
collection of the revenue. The history of tn
PORTLAND Custom House for the past sevent
years-political and personal-;f it could b
| gathered up, would make very entertaining
narrative. 1t has submitted to many change
| of location liz that time, as we'll as 30 the muta
tons of personal experiences The first collee
tor of Portland, under our present organization
of the government, was Nathaniel f. Fosdick
He succeeded Thomas Childs, who occupied
corresponding position under the confedera
ton. In 1902 Mr.. Fosdck was removed by MI
Jefferson to give place to Isaac llsey, who hell
the Office twenty-seven years. At the tim
Mr. Isley entered upon his duties, the custom
house was in a one and half story building
which stood little above the present Case
National Bank block. In 1904 it was removed
to the building on Exchange street occupied
| by the Bank of Cumberland at the time of thu
great fire. The bank was on the first floor an(
the custom house in the second story. Ii
1926, or tbereabouts, Mr.. Ilsley' rem ved it t.
| the brick block on the corner OF Fore ant
Plum Streets which he had just built, ant
business was done in the room afterwards oc
cuped by the Manufacturers and Trader!
y
made an appropriation of $4,000 for the cree
ton of a building on Fore street and Mr.. lis
ley was appointed superintendent of con
struction. He managed the business with sc
much prudence that small balance was LEFT
in his hands when the building was completed
"a circumstance that cannot be paraleed, we
think, in these later days. This building, with
its Sc yere Doric trent, was familiar object tc
our citizens until its removal in 1867 to give
place to the present structure.
In 1915. Hon. A. w. H. Capp then in Con-
| gress, succeeded in obtaining an appropriation
| of $4,000 for the purchase of the City Ex-
| change, which stood on the site of the new
| Postofice, and in 1S49 Collector Luther Jewett
took possession of that building. This was de-
stroyed by fire Sunday, Jan. 8, 1854, bitter
cold morning; and the customs officials went
back to the old place on Fore street until the
completo of the granite building which was
so badly injured in the great fire of 1866 that
its demolition was a necessity.
! The corner stone of the present custom house
was laid with Masonic ceremonies on the 9Th
| of May, 1868, and three and a half years have
| been required for its completion. 1t is ac-
| knowledged to be one of the most elegant build
| ings in New England, in architecture, proper
tions, material and convenience of interior ar
| raugement. The best view of it is obtained
from Commercial street, where its full proper.
tons represented to the eye; the Fore street
front conveying less favorable idea of its
| grandeur, on account of the land rising from
| Commercial street and hiding the basement
story. The order of architecture is Doric
| with Corinthian towers surrounding both
fronts and crowned with balustrades. The
basement story is in rustic granite, with the
upper stories carried out in harmony with the
| order arched windows, and semi-circulal
| pilasters, supporting the belt and heavy entab-
ature. The fronts are projecting, and finish
| ed with pedments, which give the building a
| peculiar grace. The dimensions on the ground
are 100 by 68 feet, and the height on CONNER.
| cial street, from the pavement to the top of the
| balustrade nearly 50 feet. BY the Fore street
entrance we go directly into the main office;
| the entrance on Commercial street leads to the
rooms of some of the subordinate officers. On
entering the building by this way broad
staircase of stone conducts the visitor to the
upper stories. On,the left of the staircase the
first room approached is that of the weighers
and gaugers, 20 by 80 feet size. 1--WE omit the
fractions on all these measurements and give
the round number of feet.) On the right of
the staircase is the room of the general ap-
praiser IL by 20, and that of the deputy ap-
praisers in the rear 10 by 20 feet. On this side
of the building, and in the rear of the last
named apartment is the examining room, II
by Al feet, accessible from the area on Vine
street. The remainder of the ceatral portion
of the basement is the general warehouse, a
room Al by So feet. In the rear of this on the
left is the engine room, about 20 feet square,
and on the right small wareroom 10 BY 20
feet. In the extreme rear is range of water
closets.
Ascending by the staircase where we enter
the building and turning to the left we find
| the way to the Collectors private Office, a
| room IS by 20 feet, with al ante-room II by
20 feet. In the opposite corner, is the Office of
| the Survey or of the Port, which measures II
| by 20 feet. and the room assigned to his clerks
| which is about 20 feet square. The Customs
room occupies the central portion of this story
| and is m agnifcent room, SO by So feet on the
| floor and nearly 3S feet high. Two long mar
| BILE counters run through the length of the
| room, leaving an area of Is feet between them.
| In the middle they retreat from the front
line, leaving space of 10 feet square, which
will be occupied by circle OF desks for public
convenience, clock, and perhaps some APP
propriate bust or ornament. The space be-
hind the counters is broad and gives ample
working room for the deputy collectors and
| clerks The room is lighted by two ranges of
| windows on tie sides, and between these bal
| cony of iron tracery work runs around the
four sides, with doors from some of the rooms
above opening on it, Four large chandeliers
(Which have already become an annoyance te
the Argus), and large number OF brackets arr
calculated to give light at night. The floor o
the central area Gas we'll as all the halls in tht
building) is paved with alternate squares o
| light and dark marble. The ceiling is finish
ed in heavy panels The cashiers room lis il
the rear of the great hall, on the left, in which
is the vault, a splendid piece of masonry, fire
proof and burglar proof. The assistant treas
urer has a loom still further on, and facing
Fore street This is about IS by 20 feet it size
On the other side of the building is a Goa
room and lavatory, opening from the customs
| room: while the corner is finished into room
measuring IS by 20 feet, to be occupied by thu
special agents of the treasury department.
The front and rear of the building are fin
| ished,in three stories, and on the westerly cor
per of this third floor, (fronting on CONNER
cial street) is the inspectors room, 20 by 81
feet, and the opposite part is divided into al
office for the record clerk, II by 20 feet and TIN
| record room. All these rooms open upon the
balcony described above. The Internal Rev
| enue De oar, ment occupies the third floor OF
Fore street. On one side of the hall is the AS
SCISSORS private room, II by 20 feet, opening in
to large apartment for his clerks. The Col
lector of Internal Revenue occupies the oppo
site corner and has two rooms Of similar di
mansions All the doors and interior wood
work are of black walnut, filed and polished
and are splendid specimens of carpenter work
| The desks and Office furniture are of the yer.
finest description. Some lew minor Diet ails ar
yet incomplete, bat the office is in workin
condition, and after our business men .becom
accustomed to the new order of things the
will find the new quarters the model of COL
venience and system. .-i ID
ANOTHER FIRE.-About II O'Clock last nigh
fire was discovered in the fancy goods stor
kept by Mr.. f. A. Smith, in J. B. Brown
!, wooden block on the nortberly side OF Cor
gress street, near Casco The fire probabi
took under the shelves next to the partitlo
, which separates this store from the fancy good
| store of Thomas Rowen and was eOufiue