New museum about money to open in Cleveland
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A new museum about money is debuting Jan. 3 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland when the bank opens to the public for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Learning Center and Money Museum includes exhibits of ancient currency such as tiny cowrie shells from Indian Ocean islands and giant stones from the Pacific island of Yap, along with a 23-foot tree covered with hanging bills. The museum's mission includes educating the public about everything from economics to money management.
The museum, located at the corner of Superior Avenue and East Sixth Street in downtown Cleveland, will be open Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free.
The lobby of the Federal Reserve building is considered one of Cleveland's most spectacular interior spaces, with walls covered in gold polished marble and a vaulted, domed ceiling painted in intricate Florentine designs. The building, which dates to 1923, was modeled on an Italian Renaissance palazzo -- a fortress palace. Its vault is said to be the largest vault-door installation in the world, with a 5-foot-thick door hung on a 47-ton, 19-foot-high hinge.
The Cleveland Fed, one of 12 banks in the Federal Reserve system, was closed to the public following the terror attacks. New security measures have been imposed since then.