By Elliot Carter

Riggs Bank was a Washington institution for over a hundred years. More than 20 U.S. Presidents (ranging from Lincoln to Nixon) banked at Riggs, and their headquarters across the street from the Treasury Department used to be pictured on the back of the old ten dollar bill. Riggs' spot at the center of power in Washington eventually led to some ugly business deals that resulted in its downfall in 2004.

Golden Age

The bank was founded in 1840 by George Washington Riggs and William Wilson Corcoran. Business took off four years later when Riggs was selected as the only federal depository in DC.

The bank was involved in several notable projects in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1845 they financed Samuel Morse's development of the telegraph and two years later they lent the federal government $16 million for the Mexican American War. In 1853 they supplied the funds to expand the capitol building and build the Washington Aquaduct system. Finally, in 1865 they lent $7.2 million in gold to Secretary of State Sewell to purchase Alaska from Tsar Alexander II.