The Old Customshouse is a stately Greek Revival building from 1839, designed by William Kelly and sitting prominently at the corner of State Street and Second Street. It served as Erie's federal customshouse from 1840 and reflects the port city's importance to Great Lakes commerce in the early 19th century — a time when Erie was a significant point of entry for goods moving between the lake and the eastern seaboard.
The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the cluster of 19th-century federal and commercial buildings that give downtown Erie its architectural character. The adjacent Cashier's House is from the same period and similarly impressive.