{"nrhp_refnum":"99000682","name":"Old Custom House","other_names":["VDHR fileNo. 0990004"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of Main and Read Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Yorktown","county":"York County","state":"VA","lat":37.23438913100006,"lon":-76.50772215799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story brick Colonial-style storehouse at the corner of Main and Read Streets in Yorktown, Virginia, built around 1721 by Richard Ambler and later used as a custom house. The property also includes a brick kitchen, a necessary, an enclosed herb garden and a Flemish bond brick wall.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent example of a surviving brick colonial storehouse, one of two in Virginia, and served as an early colonial custom house. It is also a good example of the 1929-1930 Colonial Revival restoration by Richmond architect W. Duncan Lee. It reflects the prosperity of the Ambler family and the commercial importance of Yorktown.","narrative":"At the corner of Main and Read Streets in Yorktown stands a two-and-a-half-story brick building known as the Old Custom House. Merchant Richard Ambler probably began it soon after buying the lot in 1721, and it was built as a storehouse for his trade. Ambler served as Collector of Customs for the York River district from 1724 until his death in 1766, which gave the building its name. It is regarded as one of two surviving brick colonial storehouses in Virginia. Over the centuries it was a doctor's office, a school, a bank branch, a barbershop, a residence and military quarters. After the Comte de Grasse Chapter of the DAR bought it in 1924, Richmond architect W. Duncan Lee directed a restoration in 1929-1930. His work included a new roof, a rebuilt chimney, a side porch, a surrounding brick wall, a kitchen and a necessary. The building is valued both as colonial commercial architecture and as an example of Colonial Revival restoration.","period_of_significance":"1721 ca.-1930","architect_builder":"Unknown (built by Richard Ambler c. 1721; 1929 restoration by architect W. Duncan Lee and contractor E. C. Wilkinson)","architectural_style":"Colonial; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a meeting hall; the Comte de Grasse Chapter of the DAR restored it in 1929-1930 and added mechanical updates later.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.772373-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/6842/41684249/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/99000682.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000682/fc5ce641bc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000682/fc5ce641bc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Missvain","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Custom_House_(Yorktown,_Virginia)_-_May_2009_-_Sarah_Stierch.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Missvain</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Custom_House_(Yorktown,_Virginia)_-_May_2009_-_Sarah_Stierch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41684249","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Custom_House_(Yorktown,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083806"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/york-county/old-custom-house-99000682/"}