Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum is defined by four massive, marble-clad cubes connected by three steel-and-glass atria. Opened on the National Mall in nineteen seventy-six, this building was designed by architect Gyo Obata to hold entire aircraft and spacecraft without dwarfing the nearby United States Capitol. Before this permanent home existed, the Smithsonian's aeronautical collection lived in scattered locations, including a temporary wartime structure behind the Smithsonian Castle that was affectionately nicknamed the Tin Shed.