The Smithsonian Institution was created in Congress in 1846 in response to the wishes of Englishman Joseph Smithson who gave the U.S. $508,000 to "...found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." It should be noted that Smithson, when he gave the money to the government, had never even visited the United States. The Gothic Revival building was designed by James Renwick and completed in 1855 as the first of the Smithsonian buildings. When completed, the building contained a lecture hall, library, museum, art gallery, laboratories, office, and living quarters.
Although James Smithson never managed to make it to America, the Smithsonian brought his body to the United States, after hearing that Italian authorities had expropriated the cemetery he had been buried at. His remains were placed within a tomb in the building. His crypt is still on display in a ceremonial room created to hold his tomb.
One of the great Washington disasters occurred in January of 1865 when the original Castle caught on fire. Almost everything the institution had collected over the thirty years of its existence was lost. After the building and its interior were restored after major renovation, the Castle was re-opened to the public.
Over the years, the institution expanded beyond its original intentions and gradually developed into "America's Attic," as it acquired more and more collections. More museums were built and the Castle became the headquarters building of the Smithsonian Institution.
More information regarding the castle can be found at the Smithsonian Institution Building Homepage.
The Freer Gallery of Art was the Smithsonian's first museum devoted exclusively to art. The Freer was built in 1923 to house the Asian art collection donated by Charles Freer. Freer was a tycoon who made millions manufacturing runaway cars, and spent them on his Asian art collection. He also collected the works of Western painters, particularly those of James Abbot McNeill Whistler. The gallery still houses the internationally recognized collection of Asian art and the world's largest group of works by Whistler.
More information regarding the gallery can be found at the Freer Gallery of Art Homepage.
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, along with the National Museum of African Art, became the first underground museums in Washington. They are also one of the newest museums, having opened in 1988. The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is devoted to the exhibition, education, and publication in the field of Asian art.
More information regarding the gallery can be found at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Homepage.
The National Museum of African Art is devoted to the collection, exhibition, and study of African art. It is located underground, next to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
More information regarding the gallery can be found at the National Museum of African Art Homepage.
The Arts and Industries Building, formerly known called the National Museum Building, was the second Smithsonian building built on the Mall. It was completed in 1881, in time to hold President's Garfield inaugural ball. The museum, though, was built to display materials from the Nation's Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Today the museum exhibits many industrial and technical collections reflecting human progress and celebrating American resources.
Designed by Adolph Cluss in partnership with Paul Schulze, the Arts and Industries Building only took 15 months and $310,000 to complete. That amounts to less than $3 per square foot, which was quite a bargain for the federal government. Although the building was soon overcrowded, it became a big success.
More information regarding the gallery can be found at the Arts and Industries Building Homepage.
The Hirshorn Museum, opened in 1974, houses an important collection of 19th- and 20th-century modern art paintings and sculptures. A Latvian-born millionaire, Joseph Hirshorn, had offered to give away his huge collection of modern paintings and sculptures on the condition that a museum be devoted to its display. A deal was struck in 1966 and the gallery was built in eight years.
Another museum once stood where the Hirshorn now stands. The Army Medical Museum was home to many U.S. military specimens and battlefield samplings. It was moved here in 1897 from Ford's Theater, its former home. Artifacts it held include the bullet removed from Lincoln's brain, the gunshot vertebrae from Garfield, and General Daniel Sickle's leg. When the building was razed in 1968 to make way for the Hirshorn, the collection was transferred to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in upper northwest.
