Custom house
Acustom houseorcustoms housewas traditionally a building housing the offices for ajurisdictionalgovernment whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collectingcustoms dutyon imported goods. A custom house was typically located in aseaportor in a city on a major river, with access to an ocean. These cities acted asports of entryinto a country.
Due to advances in electronic information systems, the increased volume of international trade, and the introduction of air travel, the term "custom house" became a historical anachronism. There are many examples of buildings around the world that were formerly used as custom houses but have since been converted for other uses, such as museums or civic buildings.
As examples, the formerAlexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York,(now theGeorge Gustav Heye Center) presently houses a branch of theNational Museum of the American Indian,the formerU.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana,is now home to theAudubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium,the formerU.S. Custom House in San Francisco, California,now houses offices of theU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionandSocial Security Administrationand the formerU.S. Custom House in Baltimore, Maryland,was in 1973 serving as aSelective Serviceoffice.[1]As of 2019[update],the Custom House ofVallettainMaltawas still being used for its original purpose.[2]
History
[edit]Custom Houses became a prominent feature of English ports after 1275, following the creation of a national system for collecting duties on overseas trade.[3]
In theUnited Kingdom,since 1386, the phrase "custom house" has been in use over the term "customs house". This was after theCity of London's Custom Housewas erected at Wool Wharf inTower Ward,to house just the officials overseeing the Great Custom on Wool and Woolfells. The singular form was used even though in later years the City of London's Custom House served as the workplace for other customs officials as well.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^(1)"National Museum of the American Indian & U.S. Custom House".New York, NY: New York Landmarks Conservancy. 23 January 2013.Archivedfrom the original on November 24, 2020.RetrievedApril 16,2021.
(2)"Engaging with Nature - Insectarium at the Audubon Nature Institute"(PDF).Themed Entertainment Association. p. 12. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 21, 2010.RetrievedJune 30,2012.
(3)"US Custom House - San Francisco".United States General Services Administration.March 3, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2021.RetrievedApril 18,2021.Major tenants areU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionandSSA's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review
(4)Milner, John D., National Heritage Corporation (June 22, 1973)."United States Custom House".United States Department of the Interior:National Park Service:National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form for Federal Properties.National Park Service.RetrievedApril 16,2021.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^(1)Borg, Joseph (1974)."The Custom House - Malta"(PDF).Scientia.2(2): 59–63.
(2)Joseph Borg K.M., Ph.C., L.P. (1974). Victor H. Sammut B.Sc. (ed.)."Our History".Scientia: The Custom House.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^N. S. B. Gras,The early English customs system; a documentary study of the institutional and economical history of the customs from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century(Harvard, 1918), pp. 94-103
- ^Smith, Graham (1980).Something To Declare.London: Harrap & Co. Ltd. p. 6.ISBN0-245-53472-5.
External links
[edit]
- "U.S. Custom House, Philadelphia, PA".General Services Administration.
- "Custom House, Leith"(PDF).Scottish Historic Buildings Trust. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2020-03-17.Retrieved2020-03-17.
