Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum occupies a massive, block-long structure of grey stone defined by its classical Greek Revival columns. This building, which covers the entire space between seventh, ninth, F, and G Streets, was authorized by President Andrew Jackson in eighteen thirty-six to serve as the United States Patent Office. It was known in its early years as a temple of invention, housing thousands of patent models alongside curiosities like the original Declaration of Independence.