Touristic Sites
Old Customs Building

After 104 years of the inauguration of the Old Customs Building on October 16th of the year 1902, this place is an honor for Tampico’s citizens.  It still conserves its original design, which makes it a building with priceless historic and architectural value for the city and for the whole country.  It is located only a few blocks away from Liberty Square in the north margin of the Pánuco River.

Its construction was ordered after the fire that burned the first Customs Building, which was located in the same place where the Telegraph Office is today.  A small strip was chosen for its construction that separates both the Tamesí and the Pánuco Rivers in order to provide service to large vessels on the side of the Pánuco River and to small ones on the Tamesí River.  A bridge communicated it with the dock, which was sent to be built by Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada and was substituted years later by a metal bridge.  The bridge was removed after refilling the Tamesí River and its mouth was diverted to what today we know as La Puntilla.  After that, the railroad and the Plaza Hijas de Tampico were built where today the Gastronomic Market is located and the buildings of the southern part of the Liberty Square.


This beautiful building began its assembly in 1896.  Its design was chosen by Don Porfirio Diaz on an English catalog of public buildings.  Many imported materials were used such as red bricks from England, iron from France, wood for its doors from Louisiana whereas the quarry used for the arches was brought from La Huasteca.  On its inside, you will see at the sides of the stairs two Venetian mosaic representations of the national shield given by the Italian government.  Nowadays, this gorgeous building conserves its original material except its roof and its floor, which were deteriorated and then recovered by the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público and INAH.

On your visit, we strongly recommend you to visit this building.  Here you will have a magnificent view of the river and Tampico and you will get to know a little of our history on the interesting exposition “Tampico 1829… A story to tell” found on its lower flour.

1829 ExhibitionShows elements and images of the historic event, that proclaimed the culmination of the Mexican Independence movement... >>