Assay Office Building in 1913

The Assay Office Building, 32 Wall Street, Manhattan, Built in 1824. The oldest Federal building standing in Manhattan when this photo was taken June 13, 1913.

The Assay Office Building was designed and built by Martin E. Thompson in 1824 as the New York branch of the Bank of the United States. The building functioned as the U.S. Assay Office from 1853 until 1912. In 1915, the facade of the building was saved from destruction by I. N. Phelps Stokes, who paid to have it dismantled and stored at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was re-erected in 1924 as part of the facade of the museum's American Wing (source: NYC / Frank Cousins Collection).