The U.S. Customs House or "Edificio Aduana" is a historic

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 located at Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. As of February 10, 1988, the building was owned by the U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C.James C. Massey, Exec. Vice Pres., and Shirley Maxwell, Associate, National Preservation Institute (National Building Museum) Washington, D.C. and the Federal Historic Preservation Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury. (Washington D.C.) January 7, 1988. In ''National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – U.S. Custom House, Ponce''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Section 8, Page 11. Listing Reference Number 88000073. February 10, 1988.

History

It was built in 1838 to accommodate and lodge distinguished visitors that reached the

port of Mayagüez The Port of Mayagüez, located northwest of downtown Mayagüez in Mayagüez Bay, is the third busiest port on Puerto Rico. The port is situated along Puerto Rico routes 64, 341, and 3341, and stretches for 3.8 miles along the coast. Its main ca ...

. In 1898 the building became a

. It originally had two floors but the second story was destroyed by the earthquake of 1918. Its present architectonic line is from the year 1924, being the work of engineers Huiguera and Besosa, being its architect Mr. Rafael Carmoega. On September 30, 1981, it was declared a Historical Building of the United States.

Architecture

The most important construction of the city of Mayagüez in attention to its general aesthetic values it is a beautiful building of "anfipróstilo" (two portals) style. Doric order (capitel) its influence being grecoroman, Tuscan and numbering "octástila" in smooth column (fuste) and "basas áticas". The building is surrounded by arches and semi-pilasters that puts one in contact with a neoclassical style of Roman influence. It exhibits two pediments very sincréticos decorative and balustrades. The structures upper portions are adorned with plates and "dentellones" of baroque influence. Its interior is of great beauty and of a Renaissance aesthetics of the

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

style. The structure is manufactured completely in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

and the floors of terrazzo edged with white marble.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Custom House (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) 1838 establishments in Puerto Rico Government buildings completed in 1838 Neoclassical architecture in Puerto Rico Custom houses on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Beaux-Arts architecture in Puerto Rico

History

Architecture

See also

References