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The Bank of the United States was chartered by Congress in 1791 in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital. Despite considerable resistance from representatives of the southern states, it was established to centralize the banks of the thirteen colonies and to create a common currency for the newly unified country. After Congress refused to renew the bank's charter in 1811, the building was acquired by Stephen Girard, a prominent Philadelphia merchant and financier, who opened a private bank, Girard Bank, in it the following year. A national Historic landmark, it still stands on Third Street today.