Customs House

Built on the water's edge at the for 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 that its Greek Revival style was old fashioned, and it's 32 columns, each a single 42 ton piece of granite, too ponderous. Others, including the architect Ammi Young, thought these sane 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.