THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501040577
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GEORGE TUCKER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The U.S. Customhouse at West Main and Granby streets is Norfolk's ``the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome.''
An aesthetically appraising walk around its exterior or a glance upward at the paneled ceiling of its pedimented portico immediately reveals the sense of proportion that is Western civilization's legacy from the classical world. The view between its massive granite columns, surmounted by superb, cast iron Corinthian capitals, affirms the dignity of a building comparable to that of a pedigreed architectural dowager amid a clutter of latter-day nouveaux riches jerry-built structures.
Now a Historical American Landmark considered by authorities to be one of the outstanding early public buildings in this country, the customhouse was designed by Ammi Burnham Young (1798-1874), one of the nation's foremost 19th-century architects. A New Hampshire native, Young crowned his career as the architect for the Treasury Building in Washington. Meanwhile, he had designed customhouses in Boston, Newark, N.J., Wilmington, Del., Portsmouth, N.H., and Galveston, Texas, as well as several buildings for Dartmouth College and numerous churches.
For his Norfolk structure, which was begun in 1852 and completed in 1859, Young combined building materials from across the United States, adding a few subtle touches of his own to make it uniquely Southern. He used granite from Blue Hill, Maine, for the exterior walls and the massive fluted portico columns. Young featured tobacco leaves, characteristic of Virginia, for the pilaster capitals that line the building's main hall. This area was also distinguished by a checkerboard black and white marble floor that, combined with its proportioned doorframes, gave it the appearance of an elegant stage set.
According to Federal records, the basement or ground floor of the building originally served as Norfolk's post office. One year before the building's completion, the Federal courts occupied the main floor. Both facilities were later moved to other locations. Finally, the U.S. Customs Service, which eventually occupied the entire building, took up its headquarters on the second floor in 1859. The same records also reveal that Jesse J. Simkins was the first collector of the customs to serve in the new facility.
Simkins only held his position until 1861, when Norfolk and the rest of Virginia became a part of the Confederacy, at which time the United States flag was pulled down from the flagpole over the apex of the building's portico. In May 1862, when the federal forces regained control of Norfolk, another American flag flown from the same flagpole, was the first national ensign to flutter over the recaptured city.
Reconstruction brought changes in the former all-white employment customhouse policy at which time African Americans were hired as inspectors for the first time. Notable among these was James E. Fuller (1846-1909), a former slave and former quartermaster in the First United States Calvary. Aside from his work at the customhouse and service as a Norfolk City Councilman for eight years, Fuller was the earliest motivating spirit behind the erection of Norfolk's Negro Civil War Monument (completed in 1920) in West Point Cemetery, an adjunct to Elmwood Cemetery the City Council's granting of the West Point tract as a special burial place for African-American Union veterans.
The present customhouse is Norfolk's third since Congress created the Customs Service on July 31, 1789. The first customhouse in the city was on Town Point at the West end of Main Street near the current structure. The second one was located at Wide Water and Church streets. Its cornerstone was laid by President James Monroe in 1819. It was also in this building that Lafayette was entertained at a grand ball on Oct. 24, 1824, during his last visit to the United States. ILLUSTRATION: FILE
The 1859 Customhouse at West Main and Granby streets.
by CNB