30 Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s vaults

LOCATION New York City, USA

NEAREST POPULATION HUB New York City, New York

SECRECY OVERVIEW High-security location: home to the world’s largest accumulation of gold.

One of a dozen regional banks in the US Federal Reserve System, the New York “Fed” is housed in a 22-story concrete and limestone edifice, in lower Manhattan. But the really interesting stuff is underground—for that is where the gold vaults are hidden. As of 2008, the Bank stored 5.6 million kilograms (216 million troy ounces) of the shiny stuff, equating to over a fifth of the world’s official monetary gold reserves.

Designed by Philip Sawyer and built at a cost of US$23 million, the Federal Reserve’s present site at 33, Liberty Street opened in 1924. The vaults lie on the bedrock of Manhattan Island, some 24 meters (80 ft) below street level and 15 meters (50 ft) below sea level. The bedrock here was considered to be one of the few places where it was possible to lay foundations strong enough to support the vault and its contents. The vault walls themselves are made from steel-reinforced concrete.

The value of the initial gold deposits in the Fed totaled some US$26 million. and by 2011 they were estimated at US$411 billion. The vast majority of the Bank’s holdings belong to the central banks of foreign nations, though the identity of each deposit’s owner is kept on a strictly need-to-know basis.

Uniformed guards keep the Bank and its vaults safe, and must annually prove their skill with firearms on the Bank’s own firing range. CCTV and electronic surveillance systems record all goings-on within the walls, while a central control room receives alerts every time the vault is opened or closed. Should an alarm be triggered, security staff can seal off the entire building in less than half a minute.

Access to the vaults is not by a traditional door but via a short passageway, cut through an upright steel cylinder that revolves through 90 degrees around its vertical axis within a steel and concrete frame. A variety of time and combination locks govern when the vaults can be opened, and no single employee is in possession of all the codes.

The gold itself is stored in 122 separate compartments in the main and auxiliary vaults. When new bars are deposited—laid down in an overlapping, brick-wall design—the relevant compartment is locked with a padlock, two combination locks and an auditor’s seal. Storage is free, but the Bank charges a per-bar fee for moving the gold. It’s safe to assume that few of the depositors face major problems in paying for this service.

1 MANHATTAN LANDMARK The New York Fed at 33 Liberty Street on Manhattan Island is the largest of a dozen US Federal Reserve Banks. While top-level economic policy might be decided in Washington, DC, the Big Apple is still the beating heart of the US financial system.

2 TEMPLE OF CAPITALISM The Bank moved to its current downtown location in 1924, in a building designed by York & Sawyer architects. Occupying a city block all of its own, the construction’s neo-Renaissance facades were to influence bank design for decades.