80 feet beneath the street at 33 Liberty in Manhattan is a vault that holds $147 billion worth of gold bullion. This bedrock was one of the few foundations strong enough to support the weight of the vault, its door and the gold inside. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York whose main vault was opened in September 1924 houses gold from foreign governments and official international organizations making it the world’s largest accumulation of monetary gold. Herein lies another fantastic opportunity for us City dwellers… Yes! The vault is open for public tours.
Being a huge fan of gold jewelry, gold ink, gold foil prints and practically anything metallic gold, I came across the info about the Federal Reserve Bank when trying to find out more on “The Gold Standard” exhibit currently going on at P.S.1 MoMA in Queens. The exhibition examines the idea that, otherwise uninteresting objects, through material and surface transformation, taking on the presence of gold, become objects of desire. This exhibit focuses mainly on the themes of alchemy, religion, and its symbols of power and wealth expressed through works from both historical figures and younger artists. Doubling, copying, substitution, and decoys are some of the questions raised through the many interpretations communicated in the exhibit.
Further along on my quest for knowledge I discovered even another golden opportunity to view over one ton (2,000 lbs) in various forms at the “Gold” exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. This exhibit takes it’s visitors through every aspect of the world’s most precious metal; how it’s made, its properties and mining, the uses for trade and jewelry making, buried treasures, and where some of it is stored- the Federal Reserve Bank of New York! Did you know that India is the world’s largest consumer of gold? South Asian jewelry is generally of higher purity than western jewelry—22 karats, compared to 14 karats. Jackson Heights, here we come!
Find out more exciting facts at the American Museum of Natural History, the exhibit runs through most of next year so you might want to check out P.S.1 first which only runs through January 8, 2007. And if you’re interested in taking the tour of the gold vault at the Federal Reserve Bank make sure you call in advance for reservations.
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>