Freedman's Savings Bank in Washington, D.C.

This photograph shows the exterior of the Headquarters of the Freedmen’s Savings Bank, located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The Freedmen’s Bank was established after the Civil War as a place for formerly enslaved people to keep their money, with branches opening in many cities with large Black populations. The bank failed in 1874, shortly after the Panic of 1873, depriving over 70,000 people of their savings.