Arts & Culture
3
The Arts and Industries Building, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., opened in 1881 as the Smithsonian’s first purpose-built museum and its second-oldest museum building after the Castle. Created after the success of the Smithsonian’s exhibits at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, it gave the institution major new space for public display. Designed by Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, it featured a Greek-cross plan, a central rotunda, distinctive polychrome brickwork, and broad skylit halls. Over time, as Smithsonian collections moved into newer museums, the building was renamed, repurposed, and eventually closed. After years of deterioration and limited use, it reopened in 2021 with a new exhibition.
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Washington, District of Columbia · United States
