New Customs House .

The New Customs House wears a deep, uniform coat of gray stone and stretches along a vast, curving footprint that follows the bend of the street. George Wittet designed this structure in the early twentieth century to replace the cramped, scattered offices where colonial officials had tracked the city's maritime trade. He chose a restrained style that prioritized thick, protective walls against the sea air. When the building opened, clerks moved from chaotic port sheds into this orderly, imposing monument to imperial commerce.