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The '''Old Custom House''', built in [[1854]], was the first building in Pensacola constructed for U.S. government administration. It was located at the northwest corner of [[Palafox Street|Palafox]] and [[Government Street]]s (the current site of the [[Escambia County Courthouse]]).
Pensacola had been transferred from Spain to the United States in [[1821]], and more than thirty years passed without any location in which the federal government could operate. The site for the [[wikipedia:customs custom house|customs custom house]] was chosen in the early 1850s, but was already occupied by a department store owned by [[William Kaiser]]. The matter went to court, and Kaiser, who did not have legal claim to the land, lost. The store was razed.
The custom house was completed in [[1854]] for a cost of $60,000, which was considered high at the time. It was three stories tall, of wood construction, with a covered wrap-around balcony on the second floor. (Another balcony and roof was added to the third floor by [[1877]].)