Completed in 1907, the construction of Baltimore’s third US Custom House (Map) was severely setback by the Great Fire of 1904. Several of the buildings granite blocks were split in the intense heat generated by the inferno. One of America’s finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture, it was designed by the Washington DC team of John Rush Marshall and Joseph C. Hornblower. The structure, located at S. Calvert and E. Pratt Street, served as the city’s custom house until 1953 when the U.S. government’s Selective Service System moved in.
The historic Call Room, where customs revenues were once paid, is covered in murals by Francis Davis Millet. One of our country’s great artists, Millet created the 1907 Civil War Medal and is credited with inventing the first spray paint. Mark Twain, the father of American Literature, was best man at his wedding. Millet died aboard the Titanic traveling from France to New York City.
