The First Bank of the United States is a National Historic Landmark, owned and maintained by the National Park Service, located within Independence National Historical Park. The building was constructed in 1795 to house the First Federal Bank chartered by Congress in 1791. The Bank underwent a significant renovation to its current form in 1811 when it was purchased by Stephen Girard. The Independence Historical Trust is leading the effort to rehabilitate this magnificent building to open it up to the public as a site to display temporary and permanent exhibits on the history and evolution of the United States financial system. The project includes complete renovation of the historic building and a new addition that will contain restrooms, an elevator, and exit stairs. The architect for the project is John Milner Architects and the exhibit designer is Local Projects. The project budget is $50,000,000. Construction on the Base Building has been awarded and is about to start.

Our responsibilities on this project included selecting the architectural and exhibit design teams and managing the design phase including architecture, exhibit design, and graphic design. We coordinated the work of the architects with the work of the exhibit designers, reviewed cost estimates, and worked with the team to align the project costs with the budget. In addition, we helped coordinate the work of the National Park Service interpretive staff with the exhibit design team.