1 Memorial Drive facts for kids
1 Memorial Drive is the main building for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. This is where important money operations happen for the region.
The building is very large, about 618,000 square feet. It has a tall 14-story tower and a two-story base. This base is where they handle and process cash. The building was designed by a company called Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. It officially opened on June 11, 2008. The lead architect for the project was Henry N. Cobb.
This new building replaced their old headquarters at 925 Grand. It is located in Penn Valley Park, right across from the Liberty Memorial. The land where it stands used to be a hospital. This building was the first Federal Reserve building constructed after the events of September 11 attacks. Because of this, it has extra security features. The building is surrounded by a beautiful 15.7-acre park. The landscaping was designed by Laurie Olin.
The Money Museum
Inside the building, there is a fun place called the Money Museum. One of the most exciting things to see is a huge gold bar. It weighs 27 pounds and is worth about $400,000. Visitors are allowed to try and pick it up!
The museum also has a special collection of 463 coins. These coins are on loan from the Truman Library. This collection includes coins from every U.S. President's time in office. The collection was first put together by Treasury Secretary John Snyder. It was stolen in 1962, but Mr. Snyder worked hard to replace it.
You can also look through a special window in the museum. This window lets you see how cash moves in and out of the bank's big vault.
The IOU/USA Sculpture
In 2011, there were many demonstrations outside the building. During this time, a very tall sculpture was put up across from the bank. It was 65 feet high and created by an artist named John Salvest. One side of the sculpture said "IOU" and the other side said "USA."
The sculpture was made from 117 shipping containers. A non-profit art museum called Grand Arts helped pay for it. The Federal Reserve even sent special dogs to check the containers for safety when the sculpture was being set up.
