Custom House
Posted by: Shorelander
N 42° 21.543 W 071° 03.214
19T E 330884 N 4691684
The tall, elegant Custom House in downtown Boston.
Waymark Code: WM9W9
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/04/2006
Views: 47
Located at 3 McKinley Square, Boston's Custom House is one of its skyline's most recognizable landmarks. It is of such historic worth that it has two plaques - one from Boston 200, the other from the Bostonian Society. The Boston 200 plaque reads:
"Built on the water's edge at the foot of State Street between 1837 and 1847, the Custom House was a focal point of Boston's old waterfront. It was a controversial building in its day. Critics thought its Greek Revival style was old-fashioned, and its 32 columns, each a single 42-ton piece of granite, too ponderous. Others, including the architect Ammi Young, thought these same features well suited to the site.
In 1911, an added tower made the Custom House Boston's first skyscraper and an excellent place to enjoy a panorama of the harbor."
Accompanying the text above is a engraving, with the caption, "An 1851 sketch, drawn from the water side of the newly-built Custom House." The Boston 200 plaque is on the building's west side.
The Bostonian Society plaque, near the building's north entrance, reads:
"For more than 30 years the tallest building on the Boston skyline, the Custom House is a tangible reminder of the importance of the sea in the city's economy and history. Here duties were collected and maritime business conducted as Boston clipper ships circled the world.
The 1847 Greek Revival structure with monolithic Quincy granite columns was designed by Ammi Burnham Young. In 1915 it was surmounted by Peabody and Stearns' 495 foot Classical Revival-style tower."
The building is a Boston Landmark, and is now home to Marriott's Custom House, one of their Vacation Club properties, with an observation deck, lounge, and museum area. For all you benchmarkers out there, its tower is NGS intersection station MY3136, and MY0556 can be found on its south side.
Agency Responsible for Placement: Boston 200
Year Placed: 1976
County: Suffolk
City/Town Name: Boston
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
Agency Responsible for Placement (if not in list above): Not listed
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