United States Customs House and Court House (Galveston, Texas, 1861)
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Old Galveston Customhouse
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Old Galveston Customhouse, April 2009
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| Location | SE corner 20th and Post Office (Ave. E) Sts., Galveston, Texas |
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| Coordinates | 29°18′18″N 94°47′23″W / 29.30500°N 94.78972°WCoordinates: 29°18′18″N 94°47′23″W / 29.30500°N 94.78972°W |
| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Architect | Young, Ammi B.; Charles B. Cluskey & Moore, E.W. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 70000747 |
| Added to NRHP | August 25, 1970 |
The United States Customs House and Court House, also known as Old Galveston Customhouse, in Galveston, Texas, is a former home of custom house, post office, and court facilities for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and later for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Completed in 1861, the structure is now leased by the General Services Administration to the Galveston Historical Foundation. The courthouse function was replaced in 1937 by the Galveston United States Post Office and Courthouse.
The building symbolized the importance and prosperity of Galveston which was Texas' leading seaport and commercial city during the nineteenth century, and the port where most of the imported commercial goods entered the state. The city's business community was primarily concerned with wholesale commerce, and furnished the trade goods for all of Texas, the Indian Territory, and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico. With rising revenue from customs receipts, the United States Congress approved funds in 1855 for a new U.S. Custom House.
Supervising Architect of the Treasury Ammi Burnham Young produced the original design for the building in 1857. Public officials immediately rejected Young's three-story design on the grounds that it lacked sufficient space. A new scheme by Charles B. Cluskey (1805–1871) and E.W. Moore (1810–1865) was accepted in 1859. Their design was based on Young's concept, but provided additional space for the Custom Service and Post Office.
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