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Florida was transferred to the United States in [[1821]], yet Pensacola had no building in which to conduct affairs of the federal government for more than thirty years. Finally, in the 1850s, authorities selected a property on which to build a federal customs house. Proximity to Pensacola's wharfs was integral, but the chosen site was already occupied by [[William Kaiser]]'s department store. Kaiser took the matter to court, but was unable to prove legal title to the land. The building was razed and the site cleared.
The three-story wooden [[Old Custom House|custom house ]] was built in [[1854]] for $60,000. The newspapers were critical of its unattractive architecture and high cost, and few mourned the building when it was destroyed in an [[1880]] fire.
==Construction==
