U.S. Custom House, 1916 (now
known as the Alton A. Lennon Federal Building after a former U.S. Congressman from North
Carolina’s Seventh Congressional District).
A U. S. Custom House has been on this site (Water Street, north, between Market and
Princess) since at least 1819. The earliest building burned in the 1840s. A three-story
Greek Revival structure, designed by John Norris, replaced the original Custom House,
which was demolished in 1915 to make way for the current building. James A. Wetmore,
supervising architect of the U. S. Treasury, designed the imposing three-story
Neoclassical Revival stone building. The cornerstone was laid December 9, 1916. The
construction was to be completed by 1918, however, the work was delayed by World War I and
the building was not ready for occupancy until 1919.
A Coast Guard vessel, the Modoc, is moored at the government dock in front
of the Custom house. The Murchison Building and the back of the Southern Building can be
seen to the left of the Custom House.