U. S. Custom House, New York (perspective) 1834

Ithiel Town made this drawing of the U.S. Custom House in New York using pen and watercolor, a common combination in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It’s a perspective rendering, meant to show the building as it would appear in reality, rather than as a technical plan. Town was both an architect and an engineer, so he knew how to make things. That is why a drawing like this, which represents an enormous amount of labor involving the quarrying, transport, and dressing of stone, could also be considered part of the labor of realizing the building itself. The Custom House was a crucial component of the growing American economy, as it was responsible for collecting tariffs on imported goods. This drawing, therefore, embodies the hopes and dreams of a burgeoning capitalist nation. We might even say that the building is made of money. Looking at drawings like this reminds us that architecture is not just about aesthetics but also about the hard work that goes into building our world.