First Bank of the US

Philadelphia

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Although closed to the public, it's impossible to ignore the grand neoclassical architecture of this 1797 building that housed the First Bank of the US. Note that the pediment carved from local teak is weathering far better than the blue marble columns that hold it aloft.

The invention of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, the First Bank had the power to issue banknotes, thus establishing a national currency at a time when each state could print its own currency. First Bank notes were the only ones accepted when paying federal taxes, which the First Bank also collected.

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