The United States Custom House (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Edificio de la Aduana de Estados Unidos''), also known as the San Juan Custom House (''Edificio de la Aduana de San Juan''), 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 ...

located at the

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

in the city of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. The custom house is located at the site of the former main port of the city of San Juan, north of the former Spanish Arsenal of San Juan, and next to the ''Las Dársenas'' and Immigrants' Square (''Plaza del Inmigrante'') and the

Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse The Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a historic post office and courthouse located at Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. It is also th ...

. The large two-storey custom house is considered by the NRHP to be a superb example of

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. It is most notable for its size, its elaborate terracotta-ornamented central tower and its pink-colored exterior.

History

The custom house was designed by architect and ''Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury'' inspector Albert B. Nichols, who also designed the custom houses of

Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...

and Ponce. It was built between 1924 and 1931 at the site of a smaller 18th-century custom house, at a critical location that used to function as the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of San Juan during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the site of the main port of Puerto Rico (today the main

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

port section of Old San Juan) before the construction of the new port ( Puerto Nuevo) located along the southern edge of the Bay of San Juan. The Colonial Revival design was chosen to preserve the Spanish Colonial character of the area, as it incorporates architectural elements of the former Spanish custom house but also many of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

elements popular in Spanish architecture of the time. The former Spanish custom house, which also housed a smaller warehouse and post office, was demolished at an unknown date during the first decade of the 20th century. This was done as a territory-wide project to enlarge and upgrade the governmental properties in Puerto Rico during the early 20th century. Construction was made by the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based ''Richmond and Kemp Ornamental Iron and Bronze'' and by the ''North American Wood Products Company'' of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was primarily used as a

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Mores, what is wid ...

and additionally as a warehouse by the American Customs Service in Puerto Rico until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Additional modifications were made in 1957 and 1959 by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

while air conditioning was installed by 1960. The building is still owned and managed by the U.S. Customs Service.

Gallery

File:San Juan. Customs House. Puerto Rico (2747700146).jpg, alt= File:Puerto Rico — San Juan — U.S. Custom House, 1 March 2015.jpg, alt= File:Aduana de San Juan rear relief - San Juan Puerto Rico.jpg, alt= File:Old San Juan - Custom House detail.jpg, alt= File:US Customs Office, San Juan, Puerto Rico (8364088191).jpg, alt=

References

External links

Aduana de San Juan (Puerto Rico Historic Buildings Drawing Society)
{{NRHP in San Juan, Puerto Rico Custom houses on the National Register of Historic Places Gothic Revival architecture in Puerto Rico Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Government buildings completed in 1931 National Register of Historic Places in San Juan, Puerto Rico Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Spanish Revival architecture in Puerto Rico 1931 establishments in Puerto Rico National Historic Landmark District contributing properties Historic district contributing properties in Puerto Rico

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links