1 Bowling Green @ Broadway and Whitehall Street
Architect: Cass Gilbert
Date Constructed: 1907

A classic example of Beaux–Arts monumentalism, the U.S. Custom House features forty–four huge columns and a vast oval rotunda. At the time it was built, New York City was the world’s largest port, and the building was intended to be an icon of world trade. Four massive sculptures in the façade represent America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, while twelve smaller sculptures represent the great trading nations of the world. The building currently houses the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.