Bureau+of+Engraving+and+Printing

Patrick Geeting #15

 Bureau of Printing and Engraving One of the more popular areas in Washington D.C. is the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. People who visit the nation’s capital want to see huge stacks of uncut money ready to be distributed throughout the nation. Then again, who doesn’t? The Bureau was founded in 1862, and its initial purpose was to sign and cut those green bills that the people demanded. Soon , however, the building started to have more demands, and eventually moved onto printing and engraving the bills, too. By 1877, the United States Bureau became the sole producer or American currency. The actual building is your standard rectangular building with a lot of windows. The front, however, is the interesting part. The façade is made up of a wa ll of roman pillars, which covers the entrance to this money-packed building. The building is located on 14th Street NW and is close to the Logan C ircle Park. This building is used to make and print the bills that will eventually enter the pockets of many. It is symbolic of all that of which makes up the United States economy. I find this building particularly interesting because it creates the money that people interact with everyday. No one really thinks of where there money comes from or how it was made, and just thinking about the process of making these green sheets is interesting. Plus, there’s something about looking at t <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">hose freshly made dollars that makes people wish that they worked there. I bet I’m not the only one that wished they could take just one stack of one hundred dollar bills.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sergrio Martinez #12 =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Bureau of Engraving and Printing = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> =

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The Bureau of Engraving and Printing in a very well know agency in the US.. It is also known as the BEP and it’s a government agency of the US department of Treasury. It is mostly know because it is where the bills are printed. In other words, it is the only agency with the power to print US dollar bills.=====

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This agency comes all the way from the Civil War after printing money power was authorized to the Department of Treasury by the congress. In other words, the Civil War was so costly that it was easy to just print money and use it. This could be considered illegal today, but at during the Civil War nobody really cared if the money was printed without a reserve if it still bought stuff. The process of printing the money wasn´t formalized right away. It was until 1863 where small departments that focused in different processes of bill printing were established. On 1864, the official Bureau of Engraving and Printing was built and recognized by the legislature. In fact, the BEP had now authorized power to print money and other important documents like passports and permits.=====

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There are two locations of BEP buildings in the United States. One of them in Texas, and the other one is in Washington DC. The one in Washington DC is located between the 14th and 15th streets, SW. It was built with a neoclassical design and is made of fireproof concrete and Indiana limestone. The building is 90 meters long and 32 meters high. It´s depth extends al the way the 14th street. This is the main building and in May 1938 an annex was built. A building in the 13th street was built to enlarge production capacity and accelerate printing processes. Currently, it´s near the holocaust museum and the Washington Mall.=====

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In my opinion, I think that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a great building that speaks for itself. It is huge and what is done in the inside is wordless. Millions of dollars are printed out a year and tons of bills leave the building each day. I found really interesting all the process, of how they placed, cut, and stamped the paper. In fact, its not even paper, a US dollar bill is 75% made of cotton. I was surprised to find out that packs of million dollars leave the Bureau each day. Honestly, I have never seen a million dollars packed together, but imagine how it would feel to work in there and watch ridiculous amounts of money together. I would feel a great honor and I’m not lying. To close, I think that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has a great responsibility and no one could do a better work to accomplish it. It is a place that never stops literally talking. I think that this governmental agency is doing the best of their work and is really honest and loyal.=====

Bibliography:
"Bureau of Engraving and Printing." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Engraving_and_Printing>. "Records of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/318.html>. U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing - Home. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://www.moneyfactory.gov/>.

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//URSULA GROSSMANN// = BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING =

Function and Purpose
====<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the place where money is made. It is also known as theMoney Factory. The BEP is in charge of developing and producing United States’ currency notes. These notes are trusted worldwide so the work that is done here is very important. The BEP prints billions of notes a year. These notes are called Federal Reserve notes that are d elivered to the Federal Reserve System that operates as the nation’s central bank. In here they ensure that adequate amounts of currency and coin are in circulation. In the Bureau of Engraving andPrinting only bills are made. Coins are made in the United States Mint ====

Architecture, Construction, and Location
==== The company responsible for the construction of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility is the Architecture and Engineering (A&E) Construction Division, Office of Acquisition. The company was responsible for the construction, architecture and engineering services of the whole BEP. The location of the BEP is in Washington D.C. 14th Street Southwest. There are two Money Factories: the one in Washington D.C., and another one in Fort Worth, Texas. Both of the facilities were built with A&E. ==== = Historical Significance = ====<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> The printing of money started in 1862 in the Treasury Building of the U.S. In a few years the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was making fractional currency, government oblig ations, revenue stamps, and other security documents for many federal agencies. On 1877, the BEPthe only producer of the nation’s currency. Even though the BEP no longer produces government obligations or postage stamps, it holds honor of being the largest producer of government security documents ====

Personal Experience and Reflection
====<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> When I first visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Structure it didn’t caught my attention that much. But when I saw a stack of one million dollars in ten dollar bills I was very surprised. The stack was enormous. Since I saw the stack, I started to pay more attention and my interest in the place grew. I liked the place a lot. It’s is very interesting to see the machinery that they use to print the money. There are many steps and details in a single bill. I learned that a huge amount of money is printed every day. What I didn’t knew before was that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is dedicated only to print bills. Coins are not made in the BEP. I think it’s really interesting how everything works perfectly in the United States. I think they are very organized. The money making is very interesting, specially because it is not an easy process. It is a very meticulous process that provides a lot of security to the bills, and new security details are being added and will continue to be added. I think that the structure, as all the important structures in Washington D.C. is beautiful, and full of detail and its function is fundamental for the nation. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing in my opinion is one of the most important places to visit in Washington D.C. ====