Repair & Conservation History:
~~ History of the Structure

In 1818, the board of directors of the Bank of the United States held an architectural competition for the design of a new bank. Desirous of a design "exhibiting a chase imitation of Grecian Architecture, in its simplest and least expensive form," the board selected a plan submitted by William Strickland. The cornerstone of the Second Bank of the United States was laid April 19, 1819 and construction was completed in August of 1824.

	Rendering of north facade of the Second Bank attributed to William Strickland, c. 1840. INHP Archives.

By 1836, the bank's charter expired and was not renewed. By order of the General Assembly, the bank was rechartered by the State of Pennsylvania as the United States Bank of Pennsylvania. In 1841, the state-chartered bank went under and was put up for sale. The federal government purchased the bank in 1844, and converted the building into a Custom's House for the port of Philadelphia. The building remained the Custom's House until 1932.

In 1939, the edifice was declared a national monument and in 1941 the building was leased by the Nation Park Service to the Carl Schurz Foundation. From 1964-1973, the bank underwent a series of alterations and in 1975, was reopened as a Portrait Gallery.

~~ Design of the Structure

Located at Chestnut Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets, the edifice is situated in a north/south direction with porticos on Chestnut Street and Library Street. The design of the Second Bank of the United States is modeled after the celebrated Parthenon in Athens. The bank was fashioned in the Doric order, each of its two porticos graced with 8 fluted columns measuring 27 feet in height and 4 feet 6 inches in diameter. The building's length including the porticos is 161 feet and its breadth is 87 feet. The floor of the ground story is elevated 9 feet and is surrounded on all sides by a terrace 14 feet wide rising 3 feet high.

The walls of the structure were constructed of marble backed with brick. The columns, entablature, and pediments are made of marble. There are stone foundation walls and basement floors. A brick arched vaulting system was employed as a support system for the floors. Interior walls were made of brick and plastered. The original roof and flashing was made of copper. Much of the interior flooring was wood, except in the lobby and banking rooms, where marble was used. The total cost of construction was $413,080.

~~ Major Stone Employed

	South elevation pediment and center columns, 1958. INHP Archives.

The marble originally used for the construction of the Second Bank was called Chestnut Hill marble and came from Marble Hall quarry near Flourtown, Pennsylvania. The marbles of Montgomery County began to be quarried by Daniel Hitner about the time of the American Revolution. Daily accounts of the building's construction from June 9, 1820 to December 21, 1821 were discovered in the McAllister Papers in 1953 by Dennis Kurjack. According to these accounts, the firm of Hitner and Dager was used exclusively as a source for the marble for the north portico, while Thomas Traquair & Co. supplied most of the marble for the coping of the terrace wall and interior decorations. John Struthers supervised the quarrying of the marble and used prison labor in preparing marble for use at the site. Among items listed as paid in the account ledgers were tools used by the quarrymen: saw blades, sawing sand, pumice stone, red chalk, sponges, scribers, and mats. These accounts also indicate that the finer work of carving and fluting of marble columns was done after the marble reached the building site.