PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tens of millions of federal dollars are helping turn America’s first bank into something new.
The First Bank of the United States building, which sits vacant on Third Street in Old City, is getting a complete overhaul, as it’s transformed into a museum with a focus on early American economy.
Andrew Bedwell is the project manager of the Bedwell Company, the construction crew helping give life back to the building’s old bones.
“The marble right here and the brick are all going to get restored, the roofs are going to get removed, a new roof put on. There’s some existing roof from the original construction – we’re going to salvage that and hand it over to the National Park Service."
L’rai Arthur-Mensah with the company Local Projects says they’re responsible for designing the experience guests will have when they step foot in the museum.
“We’ve designed the exhibits and developed the content to tell a specific story and a full robust story of the American economy and its start.”
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She says people can explore the exhibits through physical, scenic multimedia as well as interactive games and role-play.
Their goal is to tell the whole truth of the United States’ economic history, highlighting people's lived experiences and the stories behind the system that contributed to the country’s wealth.
“We tell the story of the foreign trade. We tell the story of enslavement, how the American economy was built on slave labor. We talk about people’s work,” said Arthur-Mensah, detailing some of the focus areas.
Jonathan Burton with the Independence Historical Trust says they’ve raised $4.5 million toward the museum so these stories can one day become public knowledge.
“That unlocked about $22.2 million in federal funding from the great American Outdoors Act,” said. “The trust still needs to raise $6.6 million to fabricate the exhibits and then install them.”
Burton says they plan on opening the museum in April 2026, just in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary.