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Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The second site of the first national bank (originally located at Carpenters' Hall). Its exterior is made of blue marble, and the pediment contains the oldest known architectural reference to the Great Seal of the United States (an eagle).
The President, Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress on February 25, 1791. It followed the Bank of North America, the nation's first de facto national bank. However, neither served the functions of a modern central bank: they did not set monetary policy, regulate private banks, hold their excess reserves, or act as a lender of last resort. They were national insofar as they were allowed to have branches in multiple states and lend money to the US government. Other banks in the US were each chartered by, and only allowed to have branches in, a single state.
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Free museum that has an interesting collection of multimedia with art, scientific instruments, books, photographs and other exhibits that document the history of chemistry, chemical engineering and the life sciences.
A small museum showcasing the role of the Army, Navy, and Marines in early American history. The building is a reconstruction of one built in the 1790s that housed the office of the first Secretary of War.
The delegates from the first Continental Congress gathered in this building, built in 1770, and voted to declare independence from Great Britain. Afterwards, the hall housed the first and second banks of the United States and was the site of the first bank robbery in America.
This area contains the remnants of Benjamin Franklin's house (torn down 20 years after his death), the first post office (still in operation today), a Postal Service museum, an 18th-century printing office, and a Franklin museum. U.S. Park Rangers conduct printing demonstrations and performances of Franklin's "Glass Armonica." Great for kids.