The Custom House was built on the waterfront between 1837 and 1847. It contained offices for the collectors, inspectors, clerks and other officials who enforced laws, collected taxes and oversaw the import and export of goods in Boston Harbor.
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| The Custom House Tower as seen in Fallout 4 (left) and IRL (right) Screen capture by Jewelsmith, photo from Google maps street view |
In both Boston and the video game Fallout 4, the Custom House Tower is not on the Freedom Trail but is close to the Old State House (Goodneighbor in the game), Fanueil Hall and Paul Revere's house.
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| The Old State House can be seen when standing outside of the Custom House and looking up State Street. It's the little red brick building with a white steeple. Image from Google maps street view |
Before further land reclamation in the mid-19th century, the Custom House sat right on the edge of the water, so that ships moored at Long Wharf almost touched the eastern face of the building.
Now, nearly two centuries later, it is several blocks away from the waterfront.
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| A satellite view of the Custom House Tower and Long Wharf in Boston Courtesy of Google maps |
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| In Fallout 4, the Custom House Tower (icon bottom left) is south of Columbus Park, Paul Revere's House, Railroad HQ and Old North Church, and west of Long Wharf (the arrow on the Pipboy map). Screen capture by Jewelsmith |
The building was designed by Ammi B. Young, who went on to become the first Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1852. In that capacity, he was responsible for the design of custom houses, post offices and other buildings across the nation, from Burlington, Vermont, to San Francisco, California.
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| The original Custom House building as designed by Ammi B. Young, before the architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns added a tower in 1913-1915. Public domain image from a 1905 post card |
The thirty-two columns of the Custom House were carved from Quincy granite. Each column measured over five feet in diameter, stood thirty-two feet high, and weighed forty-two tons.
(Yes, the Quincy Quarries in Fallout 4 are inspired by real life, too. Quincy granite was used throughout Boston, in such places as the Bunker Hill Monument, the Franklin obelisk in the Old Granary Burying Ground, and the base of the statue outside Faneuil Hall.)
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| The exterior of the Custom House building as it appears in Fallout 4. Screen capture by Jewelsmith |
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| The exterior of the original Custom House building IRL. Image from Google street view |
The tower was built in 1915 for additional office space. At that time, commercial buildings were limited to 125 feet tall, but the federal Custom House was exempt from those restrictions.
So, at a height of 496 feet (151 meters), it became the tallest building in the city until the Prudential Tower in 1964.
As part of the Custom House District, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
U.S. Customs officials moved out in 1986. The city of Boston bought the building but it was unoccupied and inaccessible for fourteen years. It currently operates as a Marriott hotel.
In Fallout 4, the Custom House Tower is not accessible either, except for one small, bottom floor room, filled with Halloween decorations, bloody skeletons, super mutant gore and a couple of statues.
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| This is the only room inside the Custom House in Fallout 4. It's filled with Halloween decorations, bloody skeletons and super mutant gore. Screen capture by Jewelsmith |
I'll be writing more about Fallout 4 locations and their real-world inspirations in the months to come. Check back for updates or follow me on YouTube, Twitter and Patreon for more information.
Addtional sources:
Custom House Tower (Wikipedia)
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