United States Mint

 

 

Never completed, The United States Mint Visitor's Center was planned to be located in the Mint's new headquaters building in Washinton D.C. It was intended that it contain collections, exhibits, theaters and state of the art interactive virtual experiences. Its centerpiece was to be the National Numismatic Collection, then housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Retail and restaurant facilities, designed as integral parts of the visitor's experience, completed the program. . The project, designed as the national economy was headed South, was created to interpret the mission, history, products and activities of the U.S. Mint to visitors and residents of the Capitol. Failing to suvive hard economic times, it did not secure necessary Congressional funding support. It would have been sweet! Damn!

 

 

 

 

The design of the Mint's Visitor Center was an homage to the architect Thomas Jefferson, his home at Monticello, and the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Jefferson founded the U.S. system of currency... a decimal system based on Dollars. He loved octogons.

 

 

The project weenie... visual icon... a golden statue of Liberty drawing upon Saint-Gauden's $20 Dollar gold double eagle coin, surmounting ostensibly, a billion dollars in gold bullion.

 

Photo Op!.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The film in the Third Dimension Theater was to celebrate the transformation of raw gold into numismatic art... the miners... the sculptors... the artisans at the Mint... the minters... right before your very eyes!