Kingston Customs House

• Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

• Architect: Hopkins, Lawford and Nelson

• Style: Neo-classical

• Completed in: 1859

A customs house plays a significant role in the exercise and demonstration of power within a nation by overseeing the regulation and collection of duties on imported goods. At the intersection of commerce and governance, the building operates as an authority of the state demonstrating its ability to enforce policies and to maintain the economic integrity and security of a country's borders safeguarding national interests in the realm of international trade. Customs houses are typically located at ports of entry, such as seaports, airports, or border crossings.

Kingston Customs House is located in Kingston's downtown area, a block away from the Kingston City Hall. Together with the nearby Kingston Post Office, it forms the district of governmental administration buildings.

"Kingston Customs House and its matching Post Office to the right"

Kingston was chosen as the first capital of the Province of Canada, a British colony in British North America, and served its role from 1841 to 1844. Around that period, many commercial, residential, religious and governmental buildings were built including the Kingston Customs House.

Due to its location at the Rideau Canal entrance to and from Lake Ontario, Kingston became not only military but also commercially important port and therefore the construction of custom house was inevitable.

The Montreal architectural firm, Hopkins, Lawford and Nelson, was acquired by the government of Province of Canada to design the Kingston Customs House, and the building was constructed between 1856 and 1859 in the British neoclassical style which was a popular style for the governmental buildings in the region of the British colony at that time.

"Kingston Customs House in the British neoclassical style"

"Historic plaque"

The neoclassical Kingston Customs House showcases the distinctive architectural characteristics such as symmetry and rigidity of the building, the rusticated ground-level limestone façade, detailed cornice & parapet and a portico featuring an entablature supported by two rows of square pillars.

"Details of cornice and parapet"

"Portico and entablature"

"Side view of Kingston Customs House"

"Nearby Post Office designed by the same architects"

References:

"Kingston Customs House." Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Parks Canada, https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_fhbro_eng.aspx?id=2571. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

"Kingston Customs House National Historic Site of Canada." Canadian Register of Historic Places, https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7538. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

"Kingston Custom House." The Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=140194. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

"Kingston Customs House." UBC Local Union 249, https://www.ubcon.ca/kingston-customs-house/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.