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The U.S. Customs House (Spanish: ''Aduana de Ponce''), located at Bonaire and Aduana streets in barrio La Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico, is the oldest customs house in Puerto Rico,〔James C. Massey, Exec. Vice Pres., and Shirley Maxwell, Associate, National Preservation Institute (National Building Museum) Washington, D.C. and the Federal Historic Preservation Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury. (Washington D.C.) January 7, 1988. In ''National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - U.S. Custom House, Ponce''. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Section 8, Page 3. Listing Reference Number 88000073. February 10, 1988.〕 and the only one of its type under the U.S. flag. As of February 10, 1988, the building was owned by the U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C.〔http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64500546.pdf〕 The building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as "U.S. Custom House".〔(U.S. Custom House listing at NRHP ) Retrieved November 21, 2009.〕 It was listed on February 10, 1988. ==Historical background== The Ponce Customs House opened in 1842. At that time, customs administrative offices and warehouses were located on the first floor, while the second floor was devoted to dwelling units for the director of the customhouse and for the captain of the Port of Ponce. In 1845 the customhouse survived a terrible fire that destroyed most of the Ponce port vicinity.〔Abelardo Gonzalez Aviles, Draft National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, "U.S. Customs, Ponce." March 15, 1984. For the ''Centro de Investigaciones Folkoricas de Puerto Rico, Inc.'' Ponce, P. R.〕 During the Spanish-American occupation, General Nelson A. Miles established the headquarters of the American army in the customhouse, from which he directed the invasion of the southern part of Puerto Rico. Salvador Brau, noted Puerto Rican historian, served as the head appraiser for the Spanish customs service in Ponce; after the American occupation, he was appointed by General Miles as Customs Administrator of Puerto Rico, a post he held for many years.〔Eugene T. Rossides, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Remarks at Ponce, Puerto Rico, March 23, 1972. Department of the Treasury News Bureau of Customs News Release.〕 During the period of significance, Ponce was the second most populous city in Puerto Rico, with a population of about 70,000, and for most of the period, the second busiest port, after San Juan.〔Hearing before the Committee on Insular Affairs, House of Representatives, Sixty-eighth Congress, First Session on H.R. 6143, A Bill to Purchase Ground, Erect and Repair Buildings for Customhouse, Offices, and Warehouses in Puerto Rico. January 31, 1924.〕 Following a major earthquake in 1918, the U.S. Customs Service undertook a comprehensive program of rebuilding and new construction. The remodeling may have been under the supervision of Albert B. Nichols, architect and inspector of buildings in the Supervising Architect of the Treasury's San Juan field office. A sheet of drawings, unsigned and undated, for the remodeling are in the San Juan Custom House files, and U.S. Customs Service believes that they may be Nichols' work. Three other sheets signed by Rafael Carmoega, Chief architect of the insular government and presumed to date from August 1930, exist in the Public Building Service records.〔National Archives, Records of the Public Buildings Service, Record Group #121; Box #855; "Ponce, P.R., Custom House"〕 The Ponce Custom House was designated a historic customhouse by the Secretary of the Treasury in 1972.〔Eugene T. Rossides, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Remarks at Ponce, Puerto Rico, March 23, 1972. Department of the Treasury News Bureau of Customs News Release.〕 Despite its 1924 remodeling, it remains an important example of Spanish Colonial architecture outside Old San Juan. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United States Customs House (Ponce, Puerto Rico)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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