‘Hamilton’ Fans Can Tour the Federal Reserve Bank Too

MINNEAPOLIS -- If you're heading to the Twin Cities to see the Broadway musical "Hamilton", make a stop at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis while you're there. They are using the hype of the show to promote the real-life role that Alexander Hamilton played in founding the country's central bank system.

Tour Guide Karmi Mattson says it was an idea that not everyone was excited about at the time.

It was controversial at the time.  Hamilton was very adamant that what the country needed was to consolidate its debt from the war and the way to do that was with one central bank.  But, in particular, Thomas Jefferson was very opposed to that idea.  There was quite a battle that plays out in the musical.

Mattson says they offer free public tours of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis year round, but during the six-week run of the musical, they are focusing more on Hamilton.

And then perhaps the most exciting part for many people is we do have quite a bit of money here.  So we'll take you down to the cash department, you'll see some cash, you'll see some robots driving the cash around.  It's very exciting.

You can also go on their website and take a quiz to win Hamilton merchandise.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is on Hennepin Avenue, just down the street from the theater.

About 1,000 people work at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.