Customs Building. H.G. outside wheelhouse, 1949

The collection consists of approximately 285 nitrate film and 5 safety film negatives, of which approximately 55 have corresponding photoprints, and 4 metal boxes containing 645 35mm color slides.

The collection of negatives and photoprints documents activities of the United States Customs Service in Baltimore during the years 1929-1950, with respect to both freight control and immigration. Henry G. Granofsky is depicted, along with Customs Service coworkers, at work on boats of all sizes in shipyards and in the Baltimore harbor. There are also photographs of scenes around Baltimore unrelated to the Customs Service. These include pictures ofa 1929 Bicentennial Pageant, businesses on E. Baltimore St. including theatres on "The Block", and a camp at Harmony Point.

The slides were made circa 1955-1972, and also document Customs Service activities, with several sets of images depicting shipping of particular products, e.g., sugar, ore, bananas, lumber, grain, and son on. Of the 645 slides, a set of 322 depict the downtown Baltimore business district, many focusing on various stages of demolition and construction in the early 1960s, including a slide of the Ford's Theater demolition.