Pattern Category: Places Series: Spread Eagle Border Object Type: Dinner and Dessert Wares Dimensions: Description:
This plate is the only form on which this design appears. Sharp eyes will note that over the portico is Founded A.D. MDCCXCV (1795). In 1791 Congress created the First Bank of the United States and this Palladian style building on Third Street in Philadelphia was built 1795-97 to house it. Congress did not renew the bank's charter in 1812 and Stephen Girard, the bank's largest shareholder, bought it. It thereafter became known as Girard's Bank.
Stephen Girard (1750-1831), a naturalized American citizen born in France, was at that time the richest man in America from his career as a merchant and shipping magnate. Ever known for his philanthropy and public service to his adopted country, Girard came to the rescue when the U.S. Treasury ran out of money during the War of 1812, risking his orn fortune by loaning the Treasury eight million dollars and keeping the government solvent.
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