inside. >> at one point this space was the largest room in america. we were the patent office in 1840. this is where the declaration was displayed. >> walk me through how it got here. >> after 1776 when it was signed it's amazing it wasn't destroyed. it moved with the congress whenever the capitol moved. it was in princeton, new jersey annapolis, it traveled with charles thompson, secretary of the continental congress. >> do you have any idea what it was like in here? >> it was terrible. the declaration was being moved around put in this burlap bag. they rolled it up all the time which you're not supposed to do. it was exposed to light, exposed to smoke. >> who put their handprint on the declaration of independence? do you have any leads? >> no, i do not. the most anonymous of the founders in fact put his hand down on it when he signed. >> you know what would make this investigation a lot better? >> what? >> street cello music.