The former U.S. Customhouse and Post Office in Bath, a fine example of Italianate architecture, is located at 1 Front Street. It was built between 1852 and 1858 by the federal government to serve the needs of an expanding major shipping and shipbuilding center on the Maine midcoast. It stands at the southern end of Front Street on a lot also bounded by Lambard and Commercial Streets and by Route 1 on the south.

It was designed by Ammi B. Young, who had become head of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department in 1852. He was responsible for the design of many government buildings including notable works such as the Vermont State Capitol and the Boston Custom House.

The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct l9th century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Three typical features were a prominently bracketed cornice, towers based on Italian bell towers and adjoining arched windows. From the late 1840’s to 1890, it achieved huge popularity in the United States.

The Bath Custom house is a two story masonry structure built out of ashlar granite and covered by a truncated metal hip roof. Its front facade has a center projecting section topped by a fully pedimented low-pitch gable. The gable and the main roof line eaves are studded with medallions and the building corners are quoined. Quoin is the accentuation of a building’s corner with side header bricks or stone blocks that may differ from the wall masonry in size, color or texture.

Windows on the ground floor are set in rectangular openings with low gabled hoods, while those on the second floor have hoods with drip molding. The entrance is an elaborate three-section arrangement topped by a bracketed cornice. The interior construction includes iron beams supported by either stone or iron posts, an advance in fire-resistant building materials of the period.

It served as the local post office and customhouse until 1970 when it was declared surplus by the General Services Administration. The building now houses a variety of businesses. It was listed on the Register of Historic Places in Sagadahoc County, Maine in 1970.