On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, National Park Service staff and the Philadelphia Fire Department responded to smoke alarms in the Second Bank of the United States, which is a building within Independence National Historical Park. Thanks to the swift response from the Philadelphia Fire Department, a small fire in a mechanical unit in the basement was snuffed safely. There were no injuries and no damage to the building structure. The Philadelphia Fire Department said the fire was reported at the previous bank, which is located at 420 Chestnut Street, at around 7:40 a.m. The fire was confined in the building’s basement mechanical system, but smoke from the fire escaped throughout the building and left a thin film of dirt and debris. The Second Bank is a National Historic Landmark and the location of Independence’s fine arts exhibit of 195 portraits, many of them by 18th century artist Charles Willson Peale. Fortunately, damage to this collection was minimal.
The Second Bank, which was commissioned by Congress in 1816, played an important role in the “bank wars,” which set President Andrew Jackson against a powerful bank president named Nicholas Biddle. President Jackson vied that the Second Bank was unconstitutional and dangerous to Republican ideas. Jackson’s political challengers, in 1832, decided to make the Bank an election problem by forcing an early renewal of the Bank’s 20 year charter. The plan failed when President Jackson vetoed the bill. By 1836, all of the Second Bank’s funds had been transferred to state banks.
An architectural conservation organization is readying recommendations for cleaning the historic building finishes, such as the marble, paint, and plaster, on the Bank’s interior. The composition of the debris film is undergoing analysis. The results of the investigation will allow conservators to complete their report to the park. The recommendations are expected to come in before the end of February, which will assist the Park to begin the contract process for cleaning in March.
Jane Cowley, the Public Affairs Officer for Independence National Historical Park, states, “We have completed the condition assessments of all the museum collections exhibited and stored in the building. The park’s large collection of 18th- and 19th-century portraits is affected by the film, and these will be the first museum objects cleaned after the building is fully cleaned and restored. We anticipate this conservation process will take some time, continuing after the building is reopened, likely in May.”
Ending with the idea that something positive can be gained from every situation, Cowley concludes, “We are looking into ways we can use the conservation process as an educational opportunity focusing on art conservation.”