In 1978, Richmond Fed moved in the middle of the night RVA 100: When the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond moved at midnight

RVA 100 | EXPLORING HIDDEN HISTORIES

This story is the latest installment of RVA100, our series that highlights the people, places and objects that define the Richmond region. We're exploring hidden histories and colorful backstories. Some will be familiar. Others you may learn about for the first time. For 100 days, we'll showcase a different quintessential Richmond icon in the newspaper and at richmond.com.

The 26-story building that houses the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has towered over the James River and dominated the city's skyline since 1978.

It's the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve, which is responsible for the banking system in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, most of West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The bank has a broad list of functions that include providing money to commercial banks and selling Treasury bonds.

When the bank moved from its building on North Ninth Street to the current location in 1978, a small army of security escorted three specially-designed tractor-trailers through the streets of Richmond in the middle of the night as they moved $6 billion worth of securities - including $300 million in cash, $1 million in coins and more than $700 million in miscellaneous paper such as canceled currency.

Security included 30 Secret Service agents in bulletproof vests, heavily armed SWAT teams in station wagons in front of and behind each tractor trailer, 100 Richmond policemen blocking intersections throughout downtown, sharpshooters perched on rooftops and a helicopter overlooking the whole scene.

The current building at 701 E. Byrd St. was designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed the former World Trade Center in Manhattan. It is the city's fourth-tallest building at 393 feet.

- Paul Whelan

pwhelan@timesdispatch.com