Page:WALL STREET IN HISTORY.djvu/79

 Rh Before the end of the year 1834 the work on the new Custom House had progressed admirably. The foundation was nearly completed. The huge blocks of marble for the columns were the curiosities; of the hour. Forty yoke of oxen were required to transport one of these through the streets to its destination. The Astor Hotel was rising gradually towards the skies about the same time, and the two buildings were watched with interest by the citizens, and visited by all strangers coming to the city and by sightseers generally. The unique style and solidity of the Custom House were much commended; and it is doubtful if the structure in many of its features has since been excelled in any part of the country. It is an example of the effort for strictly scientific architecture. The great hall for business is in the "form of a Greek cross shortened in the transept part, with a dome over the intersection." The ornamentation represents the fashion and taste of half a century ago. No wood or inflammable material of any sort enters into its construction. The interior columns, numbering twelve, are each ninety-three inches in circumference; a section of one of these, upon the opposite page, illustrates its relative magnitude.