The U.S. Custom House Today
Building Today: Site and Tenants
Today, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is located in the center of a vibrant lower Manhattan community, adjacent to Battery Park and close to the ferries that take visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In addition to its own inviting grandeur, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, housed on its first three floors, makes it a welcoming destination for tourists, visitors, nearby workers on their lunch break, and the groups of schoolchildren who flock to it on a daily basis. In fact, because of the Smithsonian’s presence, the building is open to the public 364 days a year (closed only on December 25th).
Other federal agencies also bring activity to the building during business hours. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York occupies several floors in the building while a number of smaller agencies have offices there as well. And, in 2003, U.S. Customs and Border Protection returned to its roots and reestablished a lower Manhattan office at the Custom House.
Special Events at the Custom House
The Custom House is a popular site for film and television location scouts and a discerning viewer might just notice its unique features in such films as The Front (1976), Cruising (1980), Working Girl (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Batman Forever (1995), A Walk Up Broadway (1999), Autumn in New York (2000), Analyze That (2002), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), and Inside Man (2006).
In addition to the building’s busy daily activities, public areas within the structure, such as the auditorium, the Collector’s Office and the Rotunda, are available for public meetings, forums, events and other activities.* The Custom House has been the location of such notable public events as the Beijing +5 conference on women’s rights (2000), and the first public hearings of the 9/11 Commission (2003), among others.
Beyond forums, hearings, and meetings, the Custom House has also hosted special exhibitions. In the summer of 1976, the first exhibition, titled An Exhibition of Public Architecture, commemorated the Bicentennial, compiling a selection of photographs of architecturally important Federal, State and City-Owned Buildings in New York City. In the mid 1980’s, a special exhibit was held here of the Grand Projets de Paris, featuring contemporary architectural achievements such as I.M. Pei’s pyramid at the Louvre. From October 1998 to February 1999, another exhibition titled From Site to Insight: The Design and Renovation of Cass Gilbert’s US Custom House was guest curated on-site by Sharon Irish, a leading Cass Gilbert scholar. In 2002, Time Magazine’s TIME's Person of the Year at 75 opened its nine-city U.S. tour at the building. These are just a few of the many notable exhibits that the building has hosted during the past 30 years.
Centennial Celebration
During 2007, the U.S. General Services Administration, along with its federal partner agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the Department of Transportation, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. A number of special events and activities were held to recognize this significant occasion, with emphasis on the preservation of our nation’s historic landmarks. For more information on this celebration, visit the Centennial Event page.
*Any organization interested in using public spaces with the Custom House should call the building manager for specific information on the types of events that are permitted (for example, private parties such as weddings, etc. are not allowed), fees, availability, and any restrictions.
