The President's House Market Street facade suggests an executive mansion lost to time. (Photos Tom Stoelker)

It’s odd when the symbol of a building becomes more important than the structure itself. That’s certainly the case with the newly completed President’s House in Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia. George Washington and John Adams lived there when the city was still the nation’s capitol. Unlike Independence Hall, The President’s House didn’t garner importance over time. Actually, there wasn’t a physical structure left, just ruins hidden below ground a few feet from the entrance to Liberty Bell Center and discovered in 2002.

Read more and check out the photos after the jump.