It is an exceptionally distinguished example of Beaux Arts architecture and was built from 1903 through late 1907 from plans by Hornblower and Marshall, a Washington, D.C. firm.

[1] In the 18th and 19th centuries, Baltimore flourished as one of the nation's major commercial ports, its economy growing as foreign trade increased.

The first Baltimore custom house was at the intersection of South Gay between East Lombard and Water Streets, across from the present location.

In April 1865, the rotunda was the site of a viewing ceremony during the long procession winding through the downtown city streets for assassinated 16th President Abraham Lincoln as later his decorated train traveled through the Northern States back to his home in Springfield, Illinois for burial.

Today the Custom House remains an outstanding interpretation of the Beaux-Arts vision and a monument to the dignity of the federal government.

Custom House in Baltimore is located two blocks north of the Inner Harbor, on a gently sloping site bounded by Gay, Lombard, and Water Streets.

The six-story building, 92 feet high from base to roof balustrade, displays an axial symmetry and imposing presence characteristic of the Beaux-Arts style.

They used Hornblower's training at the École des Beaux-Arts and the experiences of their European tours to apply French academic planning and organizational principles to American civic architecture.

[3] The steel structure and masonry bearing walls are faced with granite quarried near Laurel, Maryland, and Mount Airy, North Carolina.

The second through fourth stories are articulated by three-story engaged Ionic columns, flanking the recessed window bays.

The window spandrels are decorated with carvings depicting sea monsters, shells, and other nautical ornamentation that reflect the Custom House's proximity to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

It depicts a fleet of ten sailing vessels: ships including a whaler, barks, a barquentine, a brig, and a schooner entering the harbor.