{"nrhp_refnum":"72001122","name":"Old Customshouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"409 State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Erie","county":"Erie County","state":"PA","lat":42.13014332700004,"lon":-80.08594288799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival building in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, with a pedimented colonnaded façade supported by six Doric columns. It was begun in 1838 and completed in 1839 to a design by William Kelly of Philadelphia.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture, a style it describes as uncommon in northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1830s. It also states the structure symbolized early growth of business and finance in America and the rapid growth of Erie County. The interior ceiling with egg-and-dart anthemion and Greek fret circular patterns is singled out as particularly fine.","narrative":"Begun in 1838 and completed in 1839, this two-story building in Erie is a Greek Revival structure with a pedimented colonnaded façade carried on six Doric columns. William Kelly of Philadelphia designed it, and its front is faced with white Vermont marble while the side and rear walls are brick. Hand-forged dowels rather than mortar secured the stone. The interior is noted for its unpaneled walls finished in smooth plaster and a ceiling decorated with egg-and-dart anthemion and Greek fret circular patterns. It first served as the Erie branch of the Bank of the United States in Pennsylvania. After the bank closed, it housed the Erie post office until 1867 and served as the customs house for the port of Erie from 1849 to 1888. Later it became the home of the Strong Vincent Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Erie County Historical Society. Its survival of these uses and its Greek Revival design are why it is regarded as an important structure in the region.","period_of_significance":"1839","architect_builder":"William Kelly (architect)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.865703-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001122.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001122/7bfe5203a6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001122/7bfe5203a6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Publichall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erie_-_Customs_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Publichall</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Erie_-_Customs_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995523","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Customshouse_(Erie,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083814"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/erie-county/old-customshouse-72001122/"}