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| Essential
Architecture- Washington D.C. Treasury Building |
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architect |
Ammi Burnham Young | |
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location |
15th Street | |
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date |
1836-69 | |
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style |
Greek Revival | |
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construction |
stone Fluted columns from the Dix Island Granite Company | |
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type |
government | |
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| The U.S. Treasury building designed by Ammi Burnham Young. | ||
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| The U.S. Treasury building in 1804. This
building was burned by the British on August 25, 1814. |
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| The U.S. Treasury, Washington D.C.
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| Florence F Noyes 1913 | ||
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The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and
the treasury of the United States government. It was established by an
Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue. The first
Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton. President George
Washington asked Hamilton to serve after first having asked Robert
Morris. Hamilton almost single-handedly worked out the nation's early
financial system, and for several years was a major presence in
Washington's administration as well. His statue still stands outside the
Treasury building. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Treasury and the Treasurer of the United States who receives and keeps the money of the United States. The Department prints and mints all paper currency and coins in circulation through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint. It also collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service. History The Office of the Treasurer is the only office in the Treasury Department that is older than the Department itself, as it was originally created by the Continental Congress in 1775. The Department of the Treasury was created by an Act of Congress passed on September 2, 1789: And be it...enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to digest and prepare plans for the improvement and management of the revenue, and for the support of public credit; to prepare and report estimates of the public revenue, and the public expenditures; to superintend the collection of revenue; to decide on the forms of keeping and stating accounts and making returns, and to grant under the limitations herein established, or to be hereafter provided, all warrants for monies to be issued from the Treasury, in pursuance of appropriations by law; to execute such services relative to the sale of the lands belonging to the United States, as may be by law required of him; to make report, and give information to either branch of the legislature, in person or in writing (as he may be required), respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House of Representatives, or which shall appertain to his office; and generally to perform all such services relative to the finances, as he shall be directed to perform. [1] Alexander Hamilton was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. His portrait is on the obverse of the U.S. ten dollar bill and the Treasury Department building is shown on the reverse. The current law, 31 U.S.C. section 301, reads as follows (in part): § 301. Department of the Treasury (a) The Department of the Treasury is an executive department of the United States Government at the seat of the Government. (b) The head of the Department is the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. See 31 U.S.C. § 301. Responsibilities The basic functions of the Department of the Treasury include: Managing Federal finances; Collecting taxes, duties and monies paid to and due to the U.S. and paying all bills of the U.S.; Producing all postage stamps, currency and coinage; Managing Government accounts and the U.S. public debt; Supervising national banks and thrift institutions; Advising on domestic and international financial, monetary, economic, trade and tax policy - fiscal policy being the sum of these, and the ultimate responsibility of Congress. Enforcing Federal finance and tax laws; Investigating and prosecuting tax evaders, counterfeiters, forgers, smugglers, illicit spirits distillers, and gun law violators.  Treasury Department official, surrounded by packages of newly minted currency, counting and wrapping dollar bills. Washington, D.C., 1907. With respect to the estimation of revenues for the executive branch, Treasury serves a purpose parallel to that of the Office of Management and Budget for the estimation of spending for the executive branch, the Joint Committee on Taxation for the estimation of revenues for Congress, and the Congressional Budget Office for the estimation of spending for Congress. The term Treasury reform usually refers narrowly to reform of monetary policy and related economic policy and accounting reform. The broader term monetary reform usually refers to reform of policy of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. Organization Effective January 24, 2003 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was no longer a Bureau of the Department of the Treasury. The law enforcement functions of ATF have been transferred to the Department of Justice. The tax and trade functions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms remained with Treasury at the new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. On March 1, 2003 the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Secret Service moved to the United States Department of Homeland Security. Under the Secretary's direct supervision are the departmental offices, which are responsible for management and policy formulation. |
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| Once used to store currency, this is the largest Greek Revival edifice in Washington. Robert Mills, the architect responsible for the Washington Monument and the Patent Office (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), designed the grand colonnade that stretches down 15th Street. Construction of the Treasury Building started in 1836 and, after several additions, was finally completed in 1869. Its southern facade has a statue of Alexander Hamilton, the department's first secretary. After the death of President Lincoln, the Andrew Johnson Suite was used as the executive office by the new president while Mrs. Lincoln moved out of the White House. Other vestiges of its earlier days are the two-story marble Cash Room and a 19th-century burglarproof vault lining. Tours have been suspended indefinitely; call ahead if you're planning a visit. | ||
Fact Sheets: Treasury Building
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links |
http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/building/treas-build-tour.shtml
"Enough Wise Men, The Story of Our Constitution" by Forrest McDonaldPublished by the Dominion of Canada and by Longmans Canada Limited, Toronto 1970 |
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| www.essential-architecture.com | ||
On
the building's south side, you will see a statue of
The
first stop on the tour is the
The
next stop on the tour is the
The
final stop on the third floor is the
On
the second floor is the
The
historic marble