While it’s currently the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Old Patent Office reflects an era when scientific invention propelled the American economy and began to mold the national character. Although more than a…

The original National Observatory was authorized by President Tyler in 1842 and completed in 1844 according to plans prepared by Lieutenant James Melville Gilliss. The observatory was the site of notable advances in astronomy and mathematics, and is…

Although Congress passed a law authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national arboretum in DC in 1927, more than three decades passed before the U.S. National Arboretum was open to the public on a daily basis. The earliest…

The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton in 1881 and chartered by Congress in 1900. The building was built as a memorial to the women of the Civil War thanks to U.S. and private funds. It exemplifies the McMillan Plan's emphasis on…