The Rouses Point - Lacolle 223 Border Crossing connects the towns of Lacolle, Quebec and Rouses Point, New York on the Canada–US border. The crossing is open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Because the municipality of Lacolle, Quebec has two border crossings, CBSA calls this one 223 to indicate it is the crossing on Quebec Route 223. (The other crossing is the Overton Corners–Lacolle 221 Border Crossing immediately to the west.) Historically, it was called Cantic, a local village name that is no longer used.
During the era of Prohibition in the United States, it was a very popular border crossing. U.S. Route 11, which connects to the crossing, was among only a few paved roads at that time, and the US Customs office was not located at the border as it is today. Travelers were expected to drive into the village of Rouses Point to report for inspection and make declarations. Those involved in smuggling rarely reported, so the United States Customs Service moved to construct a border station. By the time the station was completed (which is still in use today), Prohibition had been repealed.
In 2014 the U.S. border inspection station was part of a group in several states along both borders added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Lacolle 223 Border Station
Canada has had a border inspection station at this crossing even before the US built its facility in 1936. In 1932, Canada built a Tudor-revival border station which stood until it was replaced with a brick building in 1971. The original garage still stands at the north end of the CBSA property. A similar Tudor-revival border station still stands at the Trout River Border Crossing.
Rouses Point Border Station
Architectural Description
The US Border Inspection Station at Rouses Point occupies an 81-acre site on the west side of St. John's Highway, New York Route 9B, at the Canada–US border. Facing east, the building is set in an area of open fields with a few light industrial buildings to the east. The site is level around the building, but slopes away gradually on the west.
The Border station has a five-part plan with a two-story central block which faces east, and two single-story wings on the north and south. Unique among the stations, this one also has symmetrical, perpendicular, single-story wings on the west facade for a U-shaped overall plan. There is a three-lane canopy extending from the central block on the east, and cars coming across the border from Canada are directed into the inspection lanes via an oval, asphalt-covered drive. Parking spaces are provided on the south end of the drive. As with most of the other stations, there are symmetrically placed spruce trees over thirty years old at each side of the building, with hedges filling in for a border effect. The landscaping was part of Lady Bird Johnson's beautification program.
The red brick central block is two stories in height beneath a slate-covered, truncated hipped roof. Decorative quoins mark the building's corners, and Vermont marble makes a belt course between floors. A row of modillion blocks is at the cornice. There are marble window sills and keystones over the door and window openings. The main block is seven bays wide, and at each of the outermost bays on the first story is a shallow projecting bay with a copper roof. Sash is 12/12 on the first story, 8/8 on the second story, and is original throughout the building. The main entry has a replacement glass-and-aluminum double-leaf door and transom.
The south wing of the building is divided into four arched vehicle bays on the east and has two bays of 12/12 sash on its west facade. The north wing is five bays wide with 12/12 sash and one bay altered for a pedestrian entry. Quoins are repeated at the wing corners. Each wing is a single bay in width beneath slate-covered hip roofs. Perpendicular to the south wing and extending to the west is a single-story garage ell, eight arched vehicle bays long. Each arch is ornamented with a marble keystone, and four of the openings have the wooden overhead doors which were original to the building. Three have been filled in and a fourth has an aluminum roll-up door. On the north end of the building is a corresponding ell five bays long and five bays wide. Both ells have flat roofs.
The unaltered, three-lane canopy has a flat, copper-covered roof bordered by a wrought iron railing and is supported on wood-paneled piers.