National Historic Landmark · Washington, District of Columbia

Smithsonian Building

Building in Washington, D.C.. Built 1849 by James Renwick Jr.. Added to the National Register in 1966, and a National Historic Landmark.

Open to visitNational Historic LandmarkBuilt 1849Listed 1966Romanesque Revival architectureJames Renwick Jr.
"Morning Fog"'Smithsonian Castle (left) and Washington Monument (right)' by Tania Dey'Smithsonian Castle in Washington DC' by Tania Dey12072012 Smithsonian Building 01
Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

Wikipedia · Smithsonian Institution Building

The Smithsonian Institution Building, more commonly known as the Smithsonian Castle or simply The Castle, is a building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., housing the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. Built as the first Smithsonian museum building, it is constructed of Seneca red sandstone in the Norman Revival style. It was completed in 1855 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

National Register of Historic Places
Property typeBuilding
AddressJefferson Dr. at 10th St., SW, Washington, DC
CountyDistrict of Columbia County
ListedOct 15, 1966
Reference number66000867
Built1849
ArchitectJames Renwick Jr.
Type of placeadministrative building
Visitors per year1,100,000
StyleRomanesque Revival architecture
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark, District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites
Contributing resources1 buildings

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Open to the public
AddressJefferson Dr. at 10th St., SW, Washington, DC
Websitesi.edu/Museums/smithsonian-institution-building ↗
Coordinates38.88872, -77.02609 · Directions ↗
Nearest national park unitNational Mall and Memorial Parks · 0 mi · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearbyFort Dupont Park Picnic Areas 4 mi · Rock Creek Park Group Picnic Areas (Dc) 5 mi · Greenbelt Park Ranger Station 9 mi
This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

Explore

Why you would stay

Map

4 nearby listings

Reference

Exists because it is true

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 66000867. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.