Arts and Industries Building
Museum in Washington, D.C.. Built 2016 by Adolf Cluss. Added to the National Register in 1971, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The Arts and Industries Building is the second oldest of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Initially named the National Museum, it was built to provide the Smithsonian with its first proper facility for public display of its growing collections. The building, designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, opened in 1881, hosting an inaugural ball for President James A. Garfield. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. After being closed since 2004 for repair and renovation, the building reopened in 2021 with a special exhibition, Futures. In August of 2026, the Smithsonian Board of Regents voted to set the building as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 900 Jefferson Dr., SW., Washington, DC |
| County | District of Columbia County |
| Listed | Nov 11, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71000994 |
| Built | 2016 |
| Architect | Adolf Cluss |
| Type of place | museum, museum building |
| Visitors per year | 0 |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark, America's Most Endangered Historic Places |
| Contributing resources | 1 buildings |
| Standing | Yes |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 900 Jefferson Dr., SW., Washington, DC |
| Website | aib.si.edu ↗ |
| Coordinates | 38.88816, -77.02455 · Directions ↗ |
| Nearest national park unit | National Mall and Memorial Parks · 0 mi · on Park Atlas |
| Federal campgrounds nearby | Fort Dupont Park Picnic Areas 3 mi · Rock Creek Park Group Picnic Areas (Dc) 5 mi · Greenbelt Park Ranger Station 9 mi |
Explore
Map
Nearby in District of Columbia County
Reference
Sources
Location, dates, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 71000994. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.