{"nrhp_refnum":"70000735","name":"U.S. Customhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW corner of 2nd and Williams Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bedford","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.63540174250005,"lon":-70.92448439980268,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-12-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1970-12-30","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story granite Greek Revival custom house at the southwest corner of Second and Williams Streets in New Bedford, Massachusetts, built in 1834-36 and designed by Robert Mills.","why_significant":"It is described as the largest, most elaborate and probably the finest of four granite Greek Revival custom houses Mills designed for New England in 1834-36. Its Greek Doric effect is achieved through non-Greek means, such as altered molding profiles, omitted triglyphs and mutules, and contrasting rock-faced and tooled granite. It still serves its original function as a custom house and post office.","narrative":"Built between 1834 and 1836 at the southwest corner of Second and Williams Streets in New Bedford, this two-story granite custom house was designed by architect Robert Mills, with construction supervised by Seth H. Ingalls. Congress authorized it in 1832, the site cost $4,900, and construction cost $25,500. A giant portico of four Greek Doric columns dominates the east front, and tooled granite trim contrasts with rock-faced granite walls. Inside, a groined vault ceiling and a cantilevered solid stone staircase stand out. It is the largest and most elaborate of four similar granite custom houses Mills designed for New England, the others being in Middletown and New London, Connecticut, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. Its design shows creative use of Greek precedent, achieved by changing molding profiles and omitting triglyphs and mutules. A cupola added around 1850 has been removed and the roof parapet reconstructed, but the exterior is otherwise little altered. It remains in excellent condition and continues as a custom house and post office, open to visitors.","period_of_significance":"1834-36","architect_builder":"Robert Mills, architect; Seth H. Ingalls, supervised construction (attribution to Russell Warren also noted)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"In excellent condition, still used as a custom house and post office, and open to visitors; the cupola has been removed and the parapet rail reconstructed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.663206-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/7936/63793653/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000735_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000735/a8b4e0bf00-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000735/a8b4e0bf00-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Customshouse,_New_Bedford,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:US_Customshouse,_New_Bedford,_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000773","name":"New Bedford Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/new-bedford-historic-district-66000773/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793653","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Customhouse_(New_Bedford,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7889704"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/u-s-customhouse-70000735/"}