Peek Inside The Smithsonian's Arts And Industries Building Revitalization
The Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building—which opened in 1881 as the National Museum Building, the Smithsonian’s first purpose-built museum space—was named to our 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2006. At that time, we noted it “suffer[ed] from institutional neglect, a deteriorating roof, and the absence of a clearly defined plan for its future use.” A daunting list, to be sure.
After touring the building last week with a group from the American Institute of Architects, however, I am happy to report that, though its permanent use is still to be determined, neither neglect nor the roof are issues any longer. An extensive revitalization process is underway, the first phase of which was completed in 2016 and provided structural stability as well as corrected issues with the roof and windows. Work continues now on removing the additional interior floors that are not original to the building’s design.
While the work is underway, the Arts and Industries Building is in use for pop-up/temporary exhibitions and for special events. Can't wait to go inside? Take a virtual tour via the slideshow below.
The north side of the building is the main entrance and features a newly restored zinc sculpture called “Columbia Protecting Science and Industry.”
The Arts and Industries Building’s original “National Museum” name is still inscribed over the building's south entrance.
As much as possible of the original material of the building has been maintained, including the original glass and stencils at the entrance. Our guide noted that the compass directions included on the entrance windows have proven to be critically important to wayfinding in the symmetrical building.
The brackets that hold up the balconies in the rotunda show a cog wheel to represent industry along with a vine-and-flower motif to represent the arts.
While the paint colors of the stencils are not original, the design by architect Adolf Cluss is. It reflects a Middle Eastern design influence that was uncommon at the time, and also represents Cluss’ reputation as a bit of a maverick.
The slate roofs of the building—including those of the rotunda—leaked and over the years were replaced with metal, which was also prone to water damage. As part of the ongoing revitalization, they have been replaced with stainless steel following the original design.
The tile floors in the rotunda were replaced in the 1980s following the same design and using tiles from the same company that provided the originals.
Interior floors added for office space are currently in the process of being removed, which is opening up views of the skylights from the ground level.
A great deal of work—and modern technology—went into finding the right sort of coating for the windows, which had maintained the same amount of light coming in while maintaining opacity from the outside. (See next photo.)
From the outside, the windows offer the same opaque, milky quality as the original windows.
