Ground breaking for National Museum Building

Object Details

Subject: Cluss, Adolph 1825-1905; Cluss & Schulze; Arts and Industries Building; United States National Museum

Category: Chronology of Smithsonian History
: Rendering of the new United States National Museum, now the Arts & Industries, building designed by architects Adolph Cluss and Rudolph Schulze, 1878. Smithsonian Institution Archives, negative number SIA2011-1079.; Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1879, p. 127; Oehser, Paul H. The Smithsonian Institution. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970, p. 189
Summary: Ground is broken for construction of the U. S. National Museum building. Concrete foundations are begun on April 29th and the brick-work of the walls on May 21st. The main walls will be completed by November 1. The building was designed in High Victorian style by architect Adolf Cluss of Cluss & Schulze, with a symmetrical design and large open halls. It is situated to the west of the Smithsonian Institution Building or "Castle." This building is now known as the Arts and Industries Building.
Contact information: Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

April 17, 1879

Smithsonian Archives - History Div

Topic: Architecture; Building; Groundbreaking; New Museums; Construction (Buildings)