This was the first time the Smithsonian Castle has been opened when I was in DC.

As part of the 250th Anniversary celebration, the castle was opened for this summer only. So, the castle ended up being on both John and my list of things to do. From my understanding, once the renovations have been completed, the Smithsonian Castle will open to the public for some areas of the 1st floor.

On this trip, we went to the castle first. The castle immediately had volunteers outside who were giving regular tours of the exterior grounds. We did not go on the exterior tour due to limited time. (I wanted to go to the Postal Museum :-))

The inside was very cool and definitely looked like a castle. The downside was that we were only able to go into a small portion of the building. The entry area had information specifically about the Smithsonian. Another room was open that focused on the US 250th Anniversary.

Castle History:

• The Castle existed before the National Mall, and when it was constructed, it was the focal point for the area.
• The creation started with a donation from James Smithson to the US for “establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge”. James Smithson’s tomb is in the castle.
• An architecture competition was held to design the building
• The regents were looking for a medieval revival style building to distinguish it from other structures
• From 13 submissions, James Renwick Jr. was selected in 1847
• A paper model was created, and it was found later in the castle attic. The paper model had an extra floor, an extra tower, and a beige color vs the current reddish color
• The exterior was made from red sandstone quarried from Seneca, Maryland
• It was completed in 1855
• Initially, it was used for the Smithsonian’s operations, including research and administrative offices, lecture and exhibition halls, a library and reading room, chemical laboratories, storage areas for specimens, and living quarters for Joseph Henry and his family. What a cool place for a family to live.
• The fire of 1865 (19 years after creation) was the result of adding a heater exhaust in what was thought was a flu. It wasn’t. A few days later, the building started on fire. Because it was January, the water to quench the fire could not be used because it was frozen.
• Congress appropriated $20K for reconstruction in 1870

To learn the uses of the building over the years, I recommend watching the video in the link: https://www.si.edu/castle

Starting the tour with the interior building :-). The first room we entered had tall pillars and domed roof. The room had a deli, store, information desk and details about the construction of the Castle.

My favorite photo bomb!

Information Boards in the main entry area:

We then went through a hallway before entering room dedicated to honoring 250 Year Anniversary.

The 250 year celebration room had a dome and beautifully designed walls / ceiling.

The exterior of the building was really fun to look at. Below is the front entrance.

The rest of the pictures were taken from the side or back to show just how grandiose the building was. The picture in the upper left is the western room that contained the 250th celebration artifacts. It shows the circle window and arched windows from the outside.

I found the gardens beautiful and interesting that the gardens is actually a roof garden. The garden is the roof of the basement.

As usual, the best for last.