President Rutherford B. Hayes laid the Customs House cornerstone in 1877. Opening five years later, the federal building housed the post office as well as the area offices for the Treasury and Justice Departments. Designed by William Appleton, the ornate stone building features a Victorian Gothic-style with a soaring central clock tower. Exterior architectural details include lancet windows and a deep inset triple-arched entrance. Considered nonessential by the federal government in the 1990s, the building was repurposed as private office space.