The Smithsonian Institution Building

The Smithsonian’s first building is also well known as the Castle. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It houses the Institution’s administrative offices and the Smithsonian’s information centre; it is the Institution’s headquarters. (The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazine. It is composed of 16 museums and galleries and the National Zoo and numerous research facilities in the United States and abroad).

The construction of the building started in 1847 and was completed in 1855. The original building was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. The redstone from Seneca Creek, Maryland was used to build the castle. It was designed in Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs). Over the years it has been reconstructed many times. The first one was after the fire in January 1865. Later the east wing was fireproofed and enlarged. During the years 1968 and 1969 the Castle was remodeled into the Victorian atmosphere, the era during which it was first inhabited.

As the building served as a home for Joseph Henry and his family (the first Secretary of the Smithsonian) all aspects of Smithsonian operations, including an exhibit hall from 1858 until the 1960s are present here. His bronze statue is standing outside, near the entrance. It was executed by William Wetmore Story. In 1901, Washington’s first children’s room was installed in the Castle’s South Tower Room where the original decorated ceiling and wall stencils were restored in 1987. Inside the building there is the crypt of James Smithson (benefactor of the Institution) situated.