The Old Customshouse is an historic, American

custom house 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 ...

building that is located in Erie,

Erie County, Pennsylvania Erie County is the northernmost county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,876. Its county seat is Erie. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803. The county is part of the Nort ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972.

History and architectural features

Built between 1838 and 1839, this historic structure is a two-story, rectangular, brick and Vermont

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

building. The front facade features a pedimented

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with six two-story,

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

columns. Designed in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style, this building housed Erie's post office until 1867, served as the Customs House for the port of Erie from 1849 to 1888, and later housed a

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

post and the Erie County Historical Society. ''Note:'' This includes It is now part of a five-building complex of the Erie Art Museum. It was added to the

in 1972.

References

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Greek Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Government buildings completed in 1839 Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Pennsylvania