First Bank of the United States

The building is closed to the public, but the outside of the oldest national bank in the country is worth checking out on your walk through Old City. The building was constructed 1795–1797 and designed by Samuel Blodgett and James Windrim in the classical revival style, influenced by the ancient Greeks. An eagle, then the relatively new national symbol, sits atop the portico.

The bank institution was founded in 1791 during Alexander Hamilton’s term as treasury secretary in an attempt to deal with the massive debt the government accrued during the Revolutionary War and to create standard currency for all states.

The first charter was drafted by Congress in 1791 and signed by George Washington, and the bank was housed in Carpenters’ Hall [1] until 1795. The charter lasted 30 years, but was abandoned by Congress in 1811.

The building was restored for the bicentennial in 1976, and is slated to become the new home of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum [2] in 2010.