The Smithsonian Institution Building is a fortress of red Seneca sandstone, set apart by its nine towers, pointed arches, and crenellated battlements. Designed by architect James Renwick Junior and completed in eighteen fifty-five, this Norman-style structure was the first home of the Smithsonian Institution. It once functioned as a self-contained world for scientific pursuit, housing laboratories, a library, an art gallery, and even the living quarters for the first secretary, Joseph Henry, and his family.
Smithsonian Castle
museum
The audio tour continues in the Mira app →