The Smithsonian Institution Building, popularly known as the "Castle," at 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. Constructed of red sandstone from Seneca Creek, Maryland, the building was designed in the Norman style by architect James Renwick, Jr., and completed in phases between 1849 and 1855. The building served as a home for the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Joseph Henry and his family. Until 1881, it also housed all aspects of Smithsonian operations, including research and administrative offices, lectures halls, exhibit halls, a library and reading room, and chemical laboratories. Today, the Castle houses the Institution's administrative offices and the Smithsonian Information Center.
The building comprises a central section, two extensions or ranges, and two wings. Four towers contain occupiable space, while five smaller towers are primarily decorative. As constructed, the central section contained the main entry and museum space (now the Great Hall), with a basement beneath and a large lecture room above. Two galleries on the second floor were used to display artifacts and art. The East Range contained laboratory space on the first floor and research space on the second. The East Wing, completed in 1849, contained storage space on the first floor and a suite of rooms on the second as an apartment for the Secretary of the Smithsonian. The West Range was one story and used as a reading room. The West Wing, also completed in 1849, known as the chapel, was used as a library. On the exterior, the principal tower on the south side is 91-feet high and 37-feet square. On the north side there are two towers--the taller rising 145-feet, the shorter 117-feet.
A disastrous fire on January 24, 1865 destroyed the upper story of the main segment and the north and south towers. Lost to the fire were the correspondence of James Smithson, Henry's files, two hundred oil paintings of American Indians by J.M. Stanley, and the contents of the public libraries of Alexandria, Virginia and Beaufort, South Carolina, confiscated by Union forces during the American Civil War. An ensuing renovation was undertaken by local Washington architect Adolph Cluss in 1865-67. In 1833, Cuss fireproofed the east wing, added a second and third floor to the east wing, and a third floor to the west wing. Around 1900 the wooden floor of the Great Hall was replaced with terrazzo and a Children's Museum was installed near the south entrance. A tunnel connected to the Arts and Industries Building. A general renovation took place in 1968-70, restoring the building to its original Victorian atmosphere and installing modern electrical systems, elevators and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Located inside the north entrance is the crypt of James Smithson, benefactor of the Institution, while outside on the Mall a bronze statue of Joseph Henry, executed by William Wetmore Story, honors the eminent scientist who was the Institution's first Secretary.
The Smithsonian Institution, an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines, was established in 1846. Although concentrated in Washington DC, its collection of over 136 million items is spread through 19 museums, a zoo, and nine research centers from New York to Panama.
National Register #66000867 (1966)
