United States Custom House

The United States Custom House is a historic United States federal government building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built between 1932 and 1934 to the Art Deco designs of the architectural firm of Ritter & Shay, the building occupies an entire block between Second, Chestnut, and Sansom Streets and the former Exchange Place in the heart of the oldest section of the city. Its south and west sides border Independence National Historical Park. At 17 stories and 287 ft tall, the massive building towers above other nearby historic buildings of the shipping, financial, and commercial quarter. The building currently houses federal offices for the U.S. FDA, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, National Park Service and U.S Customs and Border Protection agencies.The building was rehabilitated in 1991-93 and underwent a major renovation in 2010-13. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 25, 2011.Building historyThe United States Custom House in Philadelphia is a product of the great federal building projects of the Depression era. Begun in December 1932 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a massive federal unemployment relief program, it opened on November 10, 1934, having cost over $3,500,000. Distinguished by richness of materials, by the quality of its design, and by a decorative program by a major local artist, the U.S. Custom House is a fitting architectural monument to Philadelphia's status as one of the nation's largest ports.