The astounding building in which you’re standing has long been a place to encounter the future. Built using progressive techniques and with record efficiency, it opened in 1881 as the National Museum. Dubbed America’s ‘Palace of Wonders,’ it marked a radical shift in the idea of what the Smithsonian could be: our first purpose-built museum, a space to spark discovery and amplify wonder.
The Arts + Industries Building has also been an incubator for the Smithsonian itself, and has been used to display everything from dinosaurs to rocket ships. Over the years it has hosted working research laboratories and displayed new inventions: the telegraph, the light bulb, electric cars, computers. A few months after the lunar landing, Apollo 11 astronauts unveiled a moon rock brought back to Earth in the building’s rotunda.
In 2004, the deteriorating building was closed to the public, and soon after, declared one of America’s Most Endangered Places. An intensive restoration project has now stabilized the exterior (including 2 1⁄2 acres of roof and over 900 windows). Its beautiful interior, which remains close to its original state, is now ready for a historic full renovation.
1846
The US Congress passes an act to create “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
1852
Solomon Brown becomes the Smithsonian’s first African American employee. An advocate for African American rights, he remained with the Smithsonian for fifty-four years, in “every branch of work that is usual and unusual.”
1881
The Arts + Industries Building opens as the first US National Museum. Many of its initial displays are objects donated from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Its first event – President James Garfield’s inaugural ball – features a “Statue of America” holding an illuminated electric lightbulb, a brand-new invention at the time.
Description: A photograph of a baby panda bear being held by someone wearing blue gloves. The text reads, “Giant panda club Xiao Qi-Ji was born at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.”
Text reads, “SAVING SPECIES FOR TOMORROW. The Smithsonian was conceived as a repository of many collections. One was of animal remains. William Hornaday, a Smithsonian taxidermist, sought to observe living bison in order to make his displays more lifelike . The animals had been hunted almost to extinction, but he found a few out West and brought them back to Washington. Living and cared for in a pen just outside the Arts + Industries Building, they were a hit with visitors, and formed the basis of the National Zoo, with Hornaday as director. Hornaday went on to become the director of the Bronx Zoo. While holding regressive racial views tarnishes his legacy, he became a leader in the movement to conserve species.
Starting in the 1980s, scientists at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute pioneered methods of reproduction for endangered species – most famously, giant pandas. With the planet losing more and more species every year through loss of habitat, poaching, and environmental degradation, the Smithsonian has played an increasingly important role in preserving species for generations to come, from African and Asian elephants to tropical frogs in Central America. We are also pioneering new technologies for maintaining biodiversity like cryopreservation, in which DNA specimens are kept frozen in biobanks for potential repopulation in the future.”
Description: A black and white photograph of two bison in front of the Arts and Industries Building. They face the camera. The text reads, “American bison graze on the Mall behind the Smithsonian Castle in the 1880s.”
1889
U.S. Congress passes a bill to acquire land for a National Zoological Park for “the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people.” Today Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute continue their work, including conservation of endangered species, from the giant panda to the scimitar-horned oryx.
1910
Smithsonian scientists survey Panama’s flora and fauna during the planning and construction of a new canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the beginning of a long association with the country, leading eventually to the creation of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
A black and white photograph of the entrance of the Arts and Industries Building with four rockets outside. The first rocket is white and states, “U.S. ARMY” on it. The second one is thin. The third one is short. The final one is long and white. There are cars parked in front of the building. The text reads, “‘Rocket Row,’ forms a line of spacecraft outside of the Arts + Industries Building, in the 1960s.”
Text reads, “FUTURE FLIGHT” Astronomer and inventor Samuel Langley became the Smithsonian’s third secretary in 1887. His steam-powered, unmanned aircraft, called the “aerodrome,” set a record in 1896 by flying about a mile. Langley had a shed constructed in the yard next to the Arts + Industries Building to conduct his experiments. But his achievements were soon overshadowed by the Wright brothers, who achieved the first manned flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The Langley aerodrome and the Wright flyer were later displayed inside the Arts + Industries Building, before finding a new home at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). So was the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander. One of the mission’s astronauts, Michael Collins, was NASM’s first director. More recently, the museum’s geologist John Grant planned the daily movements of the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. One of the most well-attended museums in the world, NASM continues to inspire young visitors to become pilots and astronauts, engineers and designers.”
Description: A black and white photograph of a boat on the water. The boat has a flat top. There are two plane-like figures with thin paper-like wings flying above. Text reads, “Langley’s ‘aerodrome’ dives into the Potomac River in October 1903.
1936
In the midst of the Great Depression, the Smithsonian uses the latest technology to amplify its voice with the radio broadcast The World Is Yours. The show, covering topics ranging from biology to art history to aeronautics, is written by Smithsonian researchers and presented by out-of-work actors and musicians.
1941
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Smithsonian moves some of its collections—60 tons in all—to secure storage. Smithsonian museums continue welcoming the public, with service men and women making up at least a quarter of the visitors.
1965
Graphic designer Crimilda Pontes creates the Smithsonian’s sunburst logo. “The sun seemed not only appropriate for its scientific element,” she explains, “but as a symbol for enlightenment to the whole world.”
Description: A photograph of an observatory telescope. The telescope is in space. It is made out of aluminum material in the shape of a tube. It has two blue panels sticking out, like wings on a plane. The caption reads, “The Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory leads the scientific team for the Chandra X-ray Observatory telescope, launched in 1999.
Text reads, “DISCOVERING THE UNIVERSE’S MYSTERIES: In 1836, Congress met to debate James Smithson’s bequest, which established the Smithsonian. Former president John Quincy Adams argued that the money should be used for an astronomical observatory with telescopes. He called it “a lighthouse of the skies.” In the late 1800s, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) set up telescopes behind the Smithsonian Castle and in field camps to observe eclipses and other phenomena. In 1955, SAO moved its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to work closely with the Harvard College Observatory. The two observatories joined forces to create the Center for Astrophysics, now one of the largest research organizations of its kind. Its staff provide scientific and engineering expertise for space satellites and Earth-based telescopes around the world. Smithsonian museums also collect and study historical telescopes, meteorites, and Moon rocks. Today, SAO scientists, including Margaret Geller, Sheperd Doeleman, and Mercedes López-Morales, continue to study the formation of the universe, the physics of black holes, and search for life beyond our planet—pursuing answers to some of the greatest mysteries. Photo credits Top: Courtesy of NASA/CXC/NGST Bottom: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Description: A black and white photograph of astronomers looking through telescopes outside. One person sits at a table and looks through the telescope and another person in the back stands up. The caption reads, “Smithsonian astronomers set up telescopes in North Carolina for the observation of a solar eclipse in 1900.”
1967
The Smithsonian hosts its first Folklife Festival. The annual event becomes an international model for representing local, regional, and ethnic diversity, celebrating cultures worldwide through collaborative partnerships.
1970
Smithsonian Magazine begins publication, seeking to “stir curiosity in already receptive minds.” Ever since, the magazine has brought current research on science, technology and culture to a wide readership.
Description: A photograph of a spacesuit. It is a thick white bodysuit with an American flag on the shoulder. There is no helmet included. The caption reads, “The spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong on the Moon was conserved with funding by a “Reboot the Suit” Kickstarter campaign.
Text reads, “PRESERVING HERITAGE FOR THE FUTURE: The Smithsonian’s earliest collections included thousands of ethnological objects from the U.S. Exploring or Wilkes Expedition and the historical relics collections, associated with the founding of the United States. The Smithsonian’s collections grew enormously with acquisitions from the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and the building of the U.S. National Museum (today’s Arts + Industries Building). Conservation standards of the time were woefully inadequate, though—when the Star-Spangled Banner came to the Smithsonian in 1907, it was actually hung outdoors on the facade of the Castle!
In 1932, the Freer Gallery of Art established the Smithsonian’s first conservation studio, which evolved into its Department of Conservation and Scientific Research. Over the decades, the Smithsonian developed its Museum Conservation Institute, the Lunder Conservation Center, and studios and labs in most museums. Recently, the Smithsonian has worked with partner organizations to save cultural heritage endangered by natural disasters and human conflict. This has included trips to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, to Iraq following ISIS terrorism, and across the United States following regional floods and hurricanes. With heritage increasingly at risk due to conflict and climate change, the Smithsonian works to preserve endangered artistic and cultural treasures for the benefit of future generations of storytellers. Photo credits Top: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Bottom: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives.”
Description: A black and white photo of an American flag hanging on a building. The text reads, “The Star-Spangled Banner hangs from the exterior of the Smithsonian Castle in 1907. It has not been conserved, an ambitious decade-long project.”
Description: A photograph of a person in the center of many opened drawers in a room. The person wears all blue. All the drawers have different kinds of birds placed neatly inside. The caption reads, “Collections of bird species– over 640,000 specimens– are maintained by the National Museum of Natural History.
The text reads, “BIODIVERSITY, EVOLUTION, ADAPTATION: As a young man, Spencer Baird corresponded with the famed ornithologist John J. Audubon, and was influenced by his documentation of American birds and their habitats. Baird formed his own collection and became the Smithsonian’s very first curator. Following the 1876 U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Baird arranged for 62 railroad boxcars of items displayed there to come to Washington, DC. A new U.S. National Museum was built to display them: today’s Arts + Industries Building. Over the next century, the Smithsonian’s collections of flora and fauna helped scientists classify species and understand evolution and adaptation.
The Smithsonian now preserves more than 120 million specimens. Scientists across the Smithsonian continue to discover new species. Smithsonian researchers collaborate on studies of the world’s forests and marine life to document climate change and its impact on species. And through initiatives such as Earth Optimism, the Smithsonian explores ways to mitigate and reverse the depletion of the world’s biodiversity to help ensure the future health of the planet. Photo credits Top: Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Chip Clark Bottom: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives”
Description: A black and white photograph of three people outside, surrounded by a rocky landscape. The caption reads, “The Burgess Shale, documented by the Smithsonian’s Secretary Charles Walcott in the early 1900s, preserves 500-million-year-old fossils.”
Description: A photograph of an art piece of the United States of America. The outside of the various states is done with a border of neon colored lights. Inside the states are TV screens. The caption reads, “Nam June Paik’s Electronic Superhighway, 1995, is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.”
Text reads, “ARTISTIC INNOVATION”: The Smithsonian’s first art gallery was in the Castle. Among the early acquisitions and exhibitions were paintings of Native Americans by John Mix Stanley and George Catlin. These early collections were predecessors to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which together with the National Portrait Gallery, occupies the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture today. Other Smithsonian art museums grew in disparate ways. Charles Lang Freer donated his collection of Asian art and works by James McNeill Whistler to the Smithsonian, along with funds to construct the Freer Gallery of Art. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the National Museum of African Art were originally private institutions, transferred to the Smithsonian. In 1974, the Hirshhorn Museum opened, giving the Smithsonian a world-class venue for contemporary art. Its founding collection came from Latvian American Joseph Hirshhorn, who considered his gift “a small repayment for what this nation has done for me and others like me who arrived here as immigrants.” Today, art can be found all across the Smithsonian: a testament to our broad founding vision. Photo credits Top: Smithsonian American Art Museum, © Nam June Paik.
Description: A black and white photograph of photographs and memorabilia from Native American tribes on display. The text reads, “George Catlin’s ‘Indian Gallery,’ based on visits to more than fifty Native American tribes, was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1879.”
1996
The Institution marks its 150th anniversary with traveling exhibition America’s Smithsonian. Millions flock to see it during its 12-city tour. Treasures on display include Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, an experimental 1948 Tucker automobile, Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet, an Apollo spacecraft, and a farm worker’s altar made for activist César Chávez.
2010
Following a devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Smithsonian works with local experts to form a Cultural Recovery Project. The team saves more than 35,000 cultural artworks and artifacts. The project marks increased efforts by the Smithsonian to save cultures endangered by conflict and natural disasters.
2016
The National Museum of African American History and Culture opens to critical acclaim. In the words of founding director Lonnie G. Bunch III, “there are few things as powerful and as important as a people, as a nation that is steeped in its history.”
Description: A photograph of someone holding a bat in their hands. They hold a small stick up to the bat. The caption reads, “Smithsonian researchers study bats and other wild animals for disease.”
Text reads, “ADVANCING MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE”: Following the Civil War, the Smithsonian acquired patent models for surgical tools and artificial limbs. These items were all too common during a conflict that resulted in so many deaths, injuries, and amputations. Collections have since grown to encompass nearly all aspects of health and medical practice. Highlights include early x-ray machines, the penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming’s experiments, the first artificial heart implanted in a human, and panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Exhibitions, such as Outbreak at the National Museum of Natural History, have helped inform visitors about pandemics. Smithsonian researchers are also making significant contributions to medicine. The National Mosquito Collection helps us understand the evolution of viruses. Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have worked to prevent Zika virus, and scientists at the National Zoo have studied Avian flu. Suzan Murray, program director of the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program, works with U.S. and international agencies to track the movement of infectious diseases from animals to humans. Photo credits Top: Smithsonian’s National Zoo Bottom: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.”
Description: A black and white photograph of three vials of medicine. There is a syringe on a cotton ball in front. The text reads, “Smithsonian collections include the original Jonas Salk vaccine for polio, announced in 1953.”
2019
The Event Horizon Telescope captures the first image of a black hole, 55 million light years away. The Smithsonian and Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics plays a leading role in the effort, which connects observatories around the world to create a single Earth-sized “virtual telescope.”
2020
Congress approves the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Museum, two major projects for the Smithsonian’s near future.
Description: A photograph of a woman holding out her hands to the viewer. She is surrounded by American flags. She wears a red chador, a large piece of cloth wrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed. The caption reads, “The Red Chador, a performance by Anida Yoeu Ali with Studio Hevolt, organized by the Smithsonian Asain Pacific American Center, 2016.”
The text reads, “REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN STORY: In 1862, Secretary Joseph Henry refused to let the great orator Frederick Douglass speak at Smithsonian because of his skin color. Henry did believe in documenting American Indian culture, but mainly because he thought it would “disappear.” Smithsonian curators also refused to collect material on women’s suffrage, only relenting with the passage of the 19th Amendment. In the 1960s—responding to mounting criticism—the Smithsonian began to be more inclusive, establishing the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Anacostia Community Museum. There was, and still is, much progress to be made. Congressman John Lewis’ annual appeal to create an African American museum was repeatedly rejected by Congress until 2003, when bipartisan legislation for its establishment passed at last. The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened to critical acclaim in 2016. Its founding director, Lonnie G. Bunch III, now serves as the Smithsonian’s first African American Secretary. Other inclusive milestones include the creation and expansion of the Smithsonian Latino Center and Asian Pacific American Center, and collections documenting gay and lesbian culture, the history of disability, and women’s history. “Cultural institutions,” says Secretary Bunch, “have to be as much about today and tomorrow as they are about yesterday.” Photo credits Top: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Photo by Les Talusan.”
Description: A black and white photograph of a woman and a man, a Blackfoot leader, sitting next to a phonograph. The woman has light skin, a white shirt, and her hair in a bun. The man wears traditional Blackfoot clothing, including a headdress. The Blackfoot leader sits in front of the photograph’s opening. It is shaped like a funnel. The caption reads, “The Smithsonian’s Francis Densmore plays a recording for Blackfoot leader Mountain Chief (Ninna-stako), 1916.”
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Credit: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives