United States Bullion Depository, Gold depository in Kentucky, United States
The United States Bullion Depository is a massive granite structure with reinforced concrete walls and a vault door weighing around 20 tons, secured by time locks. The building stands on fortified grounds surrounded by high fences and guard towers that give it the appearance of a small fortress.
The Treasury Department built the facility in 1936 to move gold reserves away from coastal cities as international tensions grew. Over the following decades, it served as a safe storage site for valuable national treasures during several periods of crisis.
The name Fort Knox has become shorthand in American speech for absolute security and appears regularly in films and television shows. Visitors see only the outer walls, but the idea of impenetrable vaults shapes how the nation imagines the protection of its wealth.
The facility is closed to the public, and visitors can view it only from outside the security perimeter. The surrounding military area restricts access, so only a few vantage points exist along nearby roads.
During World War Two, the vault housed original documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to protect them from war damage. These documents remained here for several years before returning to their original homes after the war ended.
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