Countdown to America's 250th Anniversary:
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For those entering into the United States by land, the border inspection station serves as the first symbolic expression of the country and its values. The U.S. Treasury Department constructed the first purpose-built vehicle border inspection stations between 1930 and 1943. Today, we are the steward of these historic buildings.
Throughout the 1920s, motor vehicles became more economical and reliable, and as a result, their usage increased steadily. For the first time in history, visitors entered the U.S. primarily over land rather than via water ports of entry, such as Ellis Island or San Francisco.
After the U.S. imposed taxes and literacy tests upon immigrants from Canada and Mexico in 1917, more people began attempting to evade customs and immigration officials. Furthermore, in 1921 Congress passed the first law establishing annual immigration quotas by country, which caused Europeans who had failed to gain lawful entry to attempt to cross the Canadian border.
Finally, the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment, prohibited the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages between 1919 and 1933. Prohibition led to increased smuggling of alcohol across international boundaries.
The automobile and improved roads greatly facilitated a cross-border mobility for bootleggers, smugglers, immigrants, tourists and the rest of the population. At Highgate, Vermont, for example, customs inspectors examined only about 2,200 automobiles entering the U.S. from Canada during 1919. Within five years, cross-border auto traffic through Highgate had increased to more than 23,000 vehicles. By 1931, this number had risen to 110,000 cars and trucks. In 1930, almost four times more people entered the U.S. by highway than by boat.
Until the 1920s, customs and immigration officials were housed in government buildings originally built for a different function, or in rented space. These existing structures, including old railroad cars and even tents, were poorly suited to customs and immigration tasks. In some cases, agents had to perform their inspections in the open air, regardless of weather, which could damage goods. Many structures were located far from the borders, and agents struggled to direct unwilling drivers to these inconvenient facilities. The makeshift conditions led to loss of customs revenue, flouting of prohibition and immigration law, and poor employee morale.
The Public Buildings Act of 1926 approved funding for border stations. A 1928 report by H.A. Benner of the Bureau of Customs and J.L. Hughes of the Bureau of Immigration was the basis for recommendations on the locations and requirements for these stations. Benner and Hughes recommended that the new buildings be owned by the federal government, demonstrate federal authority and presence, and be programmed with the following characteristics to remedy the situation:
The Colonial revival style used for many border stations became associated with American heritage after the 1876 Centennial celebration, which sparked an interest in the nation’s architectural lineage. Its prototypes were popularized and widely understood by architects through numerous publications in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following America’s involvement in World War I, architects widely adopted the style for buildings influenced by a blend of European architectural roots, patriotic sentiment, and nostalgic historicism. The style is primarily characterized by strict symmetry and centeredness, evident in the placement of entries, windows, and chimneys. It also often features exposed brickwork and paired, multi-light windows. While it was the default style for border inspection stations in the Northeast, the symmetrical massing was maintained even in regional variants like Spanish Colonial revival and log cabin styles used in other parts of the country.
U.S. General Services Administration