United States Custom House

Louisiana, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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At 423 Canal Street in New Orleans stands the United States Custom House, a Greek and Egyptian Revival edifice begun in 1848 that took thirty-three years to complete, delayed by design revisions and the Civil War. Notable for its distinctive Egyptian Revival columns, the building was designed to consolidate multiple federal offices and serve as a repository for imported goods. Custom operations have occupied the structure since the late nineteenth century. The building, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, housed the Audubon Insectarium—the nation's largest free-standing insect museum—from 2008 until the museum's 2023 relocation.

Movement

Greek Revival architecture Egyptian Revival architecture

Type: custom house
Heritage: National Register of Historic Places listed place, National Historic Landmark
Place: Louisiana, United States

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Location

29.95177, -90.06623