The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

I am going to switch from the chronological narrative of my last post in order to discuss the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or BEP for short.  Their ticket system is not logical, nor is it explained on their website.  It has government planning written all over it! I will spare you our confusing story, and stick to the fundamental facts.

You must have a free timed ticket to enter the BEP during peak time, March through August. That is clear, but getting the tickets is complicated!  You can only get same-day tickets. There is a ticket booth on the back, or west side of the building. The official website says the booth is “located on Raoul Wallenberg Place (formerly 15th Street,)” but when I look it up on Google maps, it is still listed as 15^th street. If you walk west along Independence Avenue from the Smithsonian Metro station, and turn left down 14^th street, you can cut through an ally along the Holocaust museum to reach the ticket booth. (You can’t walk between the Holocaust Museum and the BEP. The BEP is a high-security government agency.) For no known reason, at 1 pm, all the tickets are taken from the booth to the front of the building, and a sign is placed in the booth to the same effect, but there is no nice sign on the front of the building to save you some steps.  Later, when all the tickets are gone, the sign in the booth is switched to say so, with no indication out front.

An explanation of the map: Starting from the top, the curvy road is Independence Avenue. (The Smithsonian Metro is out of sight to the right.) The yellow highlighted spot is the approximate location of the ticket booth. From it, the red dash line runs up, through the ally, and down to the front entrance of the BEP. (The Holocaust Museum is below the red dash line. Again, there is no passage between the museum and the BEP.)

Of course, all the hassle is worth it-- it is a great tour. Anti-counterfeiting measures fascinate me. Then again, if you gave me a hundred dollar bill, I could stare at it for hours, even though the latest anti-counterfeiting design is not out yet! They unveiled the image in 2010, but due to productions delays it is set to begin circulating October 8th of this year. Not only can you read all about it, you can also access an interactive $100 bill to explore the water marks and color changing ink at http://www.newmoney.gov/!

A note about the security: all your items must pass through a metal detector. When they say you have to put everything in your pockets through the machine they mean it. If you have a wallet or phone in your pocket and you walk through the scanner, it will go off. Save yourself from extra scanning and empty your pockets into your bag beforehand, while you wait in line, and then send the whole bag through the scanner. The do allow cameras into the building. Immediately after security there are some displays about money, including this one on the left. The plaque reads "One Million Dollars in ten dollar notes." But before the actual tour, you must put your camera and cell phones away. The BEP does not want anyone to figure out how to counterfeit money! Also in the first room there is a place to stash strollers. They are not allowed on the actual tour, which goes up an escalator at the start, and back down one at the end. The end, of course, was the gift shop, were you can trade your greenbacks for just about anything with green on it. We purchased a great joke gift, but I can't tell you about it right now because the lucky individual hasn't received it yet!

What about food? At the intersection of 14th street and Independence, and/or C street, there were corner vendors with hot dogs, ice cream, and souvenirs. We bought a cool snack at one- I and my sister had Klondike Krunch bars, and my mom had Minute Maid frozen strawberry lemonade, etc. The Smithsonian Metro is nearby, and from there, you can go to many restaurants.