Arts and Industries Building facts for kids
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| Former name | United States National Museum |
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| Established | 1879 |
| Location | 900 Jefferson Drive SW, Washington, D.C. |
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Arts and Industries Building
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| Built | 1881 |
| Architect | Cluss & Schulze; Meigs, Montgomery |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000994 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 11, 1971 |
| Designated NHL | November 11, 1971 |
The Arts and Industries Building is the second oldest museum in the Smithsonian family. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., right after The Castle. It was first called the National Museum. This building was made to be the Smithsonian's first real home to show off its growing collections to everyone.
Designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, the building opened in 1881. Its first big event was a special party for President James A. Garfield. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1971. After being closed for repairs since 2004, it reopened in 2021 with a cool exhibit called Futures.
Contents
What Does the Building Look Like?
The Arts and Industries Building was placed a bit further back from the National Mall. This was done so it wouldn't block the view of the Smithsonian Castle from the Capitol Building. The building has a balanced design, shaped like a Greek cross with a round main hall in the middle.
The outside walls are made of colorful bricks in cool patterns. Above the main entrance on the north side, there's a sculpture called Columbia Protecting Science and Industry. It was made by Caspar Buberl.
Inside, the building gets light from windows high up and from skylights on the roof. A strong iron frame holds up the roof. In 1883, the outside bricks were changed to a brighter maroon color.
The building has four main sections, called pavilions, at each corner. These are about 40 feet (12 meters) wide and three stories tall. They surround the central round hall. Over time, some changes were made. In the 1890s, the wooden floors were replaced because they were often damp. Later, balconies were added to create more space for exhibits. In 1901, a tunnel was built to connect it to the Smithsonian Institution Building next door.
History of the Building
The 1800s: A New Museum Begins
The idea for the Arts and Industries Building came from a big event called the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Congress had loaned money for this event. If the event made enough money to pay back the loan, Congress said some of that money could be used for a new museum building.
The exhibition was a huge success and paid back the loan quickly. So, in 1878, a plan was made to build the new museum. General Montgomery C. Meigs drew up the first ideas for the building. His ideas were inspired by other big exhibition halls from around the world. Funds were approved in 1879, and architects Cluss and Schulze brought the design to life.
While the museum was being built, many items from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition arrived. There were so many things—enough to fill "sixty box cars"—that they couldn't fit in the Smithsonian Institution Building. So, they were kept in a temporary building nearby.
The very first event in the new National Museum Building was a grand party. It was the Inaugural Ball for President James Garfield and Vice President Chester A. Arthur on March 4, 1881. Workers put down a temporary wooden floor and set up thousands of lights. The halls were decorated with flags and colorful ribbons. A huge "Statue of America" stood in the main hall, holding an electric light. This light showed how skilled and advanced America was in the 1800s.
Eight months later, the museum officially opened to the public. It had 80,000 square feet of space for exhibits. There were special display cases made of mahogany. The halls showed off collections about geology, animals, medicine, art, history, and different technologies. These included ceramics, printing, transportation, and farming. A historian named George Brown Goode helped set up a special section for arts and industries. Items from the museum were also sent to other big exhibitions to teach people about American history and nature.
The 1900s: Collections Move and Renovations
In 1910, the museum's collections about natural history (like animals and rocks) moved to the new National Museum of Natural History. After this, the old National Museum Building was renamed the Arts and Industries Building.
More exhibits were moved in 1964. These went to the National Museum of History and Technology, which is now called the National Museum of American History.
In 1975, the building closed again. This time, the remaining exhibits were moved to the brand new National Air and Space Museum. For the next year, the Arts and Industries Building was repaired and updated. This included adding air conditioning.
In May 1976, the building reopened with a special show called 1876: A Centennial Exhibition. This exhibit brought back many of the original items from the Philadelphia Exposition that the building was first made to hold. Later, the building hosted other temporary exhibits and a children's theater called the Discovery Theater.
The 2000s: Challenges and Reopening
By 1995, the building was starting to fall apart and was at risk of closing. By 2000, plastic sheets were put up inside to protect visitors from pieces falling from the roof. In 2004, the building was closed to the public for a long time because there wasn't enough money for the big repairs it needed.
Because its future was uncertain and it was in bad shape, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of "America's Most Endangered Places" in 2006. In 2009, it was set to get $25 million for renovation work from a special government fund.
In 2010, plans were made to fix just the outside of the building. A full restoration was expected to cost $200 million and take until 2014. However, in January 2014, the Smithsonian announced the building would stay closed. They said they still didn't have enough money. But in April 2015, a Smithsonian official said that about 40 percent of the building would reopen in fall 2015 for short-term exhibits. They said the building was now safe, and some small updates had been made. But its long-term future was still not decided.
After 2015, the building was sometimes used for special events, like the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Arts and Industries Building finally reopened in November 2021 for its first major exhibit since 2004. This exhibit, called Futures, ran until July 2022. After that, the building is planned to close again for big renovations. The goal is to open it permanently as early as 2028. The building was also considered as a possible home for the National Museum of the American Latino or the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
The building has hosted many exhibits and even artists who work there for a time, like Catie Cuan. She was a "Futurist-in-Residence" and performed at the closing of the Futures exhibit in July 2022.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
- National Register of Historic Places listings in central Washington, D.C.
- Architecture of Washington, D.C.
