The United States Customhouse is a historic custom house located at Houston in Harris County, Texas.

The risk to businesses, particularly shipping, caused many companies to move their facilities to the safer, sheltered port of Houston.

As Houston grew, the demand for postal facilities and other federal services increased and a new building to house them was needed.

Taylor's philosophy was that public buildings should be pleasant to look at, convey dignity appropriate to the federal government, and that they should be designed to permit a utilitarian interior arrangement.

The courthouse operated in the building until 1962, the same year that the post office vacated a portion of the space originally allocated to it.

It replaced a three-story polychromatic Moorish post office built in 1889, which had been unlike any other building in Houston at the time.

It is a well-executed example of the Second Renaissance Revival architectural style, as evident in the arched first-story windows, rusticated stonework with deep joints, emphasis on the horizontal plane, and the stately appearance of the building.

The classical origins of the style are manifested in the symmetry of the building and the shapes and motifs used to embellish both the exterior and interior.

The building has a copper Mansard roof, and interior light wells flank the area that began as the two-story courtroom.

The lobby features terrazzo floors, marble baseboards, tongue and groove wood paneling, and plasterwork above the windows and on the beams with raised gold-painted laurel wreaths and geometric patterns.