As a tourist site, Federal Reserve is worth its weight in gold

New York Federal Reserve Gold Vault

Amid these troubled economic times, a trip to the central bank is an eye-opening glimpse into the world of currency. Plus, don’t you want to see the big vault?

By John Horn, REPORTING FROM NEW YORK
03:22 PM PST, December 24, 2008

The stock market was in the middle of another spectacular gyration — up more than 500 points one day after dropping more than 400 — and President Bush had come to try to calm Wall Street, urging world leaders not to over-regulate free markets. The economic crisis was palpable throughout Manhattan’s downtown financial district, yet the atmosphere inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was eerily serene, almost like a church.

It was fitting, for money is worshiped at the Fed, as the central bank is known, and an outing to the nation’s central bank feels like a trip to capitalism’s cathedral. Where the bodies of saints would otherwise lie, the bank’s catacombs are stuffed with about $180 billion in gold bars — more yellow metal than

Full Article: http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-fed28-2008dec28

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One Response to “As a tourist site, Federal Reserve is worth its weight in gold”

Lee Says:
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
A couple of years ago, The Mogambo Guru (the alter ego of financial analyst Richard Daughty) encouraged everyone to visit the Fed brick and mortar headquarters, if at all possible. “Two things will impress you. First, everywhere you go there is the faint, lingering odor of sulfur [brimstone]. Second, everyone wears shoes – but only to conceal all those cloven hooves….”