Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a 105 year old Beaux-​Arts facility designed by the renown architect Cass Gilbert (Woolworth Building). It is one of the most beautiful buildings in Manhattan, and I was fortunate to have an office which overlooked it for two years.
Most New Yorkers don’t realize that this was the site of Fort Amsterdam from 1625 until being torn down shortly after the Revolution. Adjacent Bowling Green Park, the city’s oldest park, was a military parade and training ground through the Revolutionary Era.
The building’s rotunda has some magnificent historically-​inspired artwork, and the building and its grounds are adorned with sculpture from some of the leading names of the early 20^th century. My favorite feature of this building are the different profiles carved into the building between the upper row of windows. These faces, each different, became silent friends during long working days– I miss them.
Overflow from the Smitsonian’s Washington Museum of the American Indian has been brought to this building in recent years, and there is some discussion indicating that similar National Archives materials will be introduced in the coming year.