{"nrhp_refnum":"11000310","name":"United States Custom House","other_names":["U.S. Custom House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"200 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94984404000007,"lon":-75.14441578199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-05-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seventeen-story federal custom house and office building at Second and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built between 1932 and 1934 in the Art Deco style to designs by the firm Ritter & Shay.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its skyscraper architecture and its Art Deco design, which is set against the historic Independence Hall area. It also states that its interiors, including a rotunda and maritime murals, are notable, and that its construction reflects federal Depression-era public works. The building has continued to serve as a federal custom house.","narrative":"Built between 1932 and 1934 on the southwest corner of Chestnut and Second Streets in Philadelphia, the United States Custom House is a seventeen-story Art Deco building designed by the firm Ritter & Shay. Its three-story base is faced in Indiana limestone, and a brick tower rises above it in a cruciform plan, topped by a terra cotta lantern modeled on the ancient lighthouse at Rhodes. Sculpted eagles, urns, and pressed aluminum relief panels decorate the entrances and upper corners. Inside, an eight-columned rotunda with an illuminated oculus, two spiraling staircases, and a maritime mural program by George Harding form the principal public spaces. The building was constructed as a large federal public works project during the Depression, with construction work employing over 4,000 people. It was designed to fit the historic scale of the surrounding colonial and federal streetscape. Its Art Deco design and interior ornament are regarded as among the distinctive examples of the style in Philadelphia. Its architectural integrity was noted as remarkable.","period_of_significance":"1932-1938","architect_builder":"Architects: Verus Ritter, Howell L. Shay; Contractor J. McCloskey & Co.; Sculptor: Edward Ardolino; Muralist: George Harding","architectural_style":"MODERN MOVEMENT: Art Deco","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building continues to serve as a federal custom house and houses federal offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.101492-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/11000310.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000310/fe2a84a9ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000310/fe2a84a9ec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bruce Andersen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Customs_House,_Philadelphia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruce Andersen</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Customs_House,_Philadelphia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72000093","name":"Old City Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/old-city-historic-district-72000093/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997064","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Custom_House_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7889699"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/united-states-custom-house-11000310/"}