Old Patent Office Building
واشنطن
The Old Patent Office Building is one of the oldest public buildings in the capital, between F and G Street. Since 1968 it has been home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
A special block
Pierre L'Enfant had set this block aside for a great building for the whole nation, open to everyone. It was meant to stand halfway between the two seats of government.
The palace of discoveries
In 1836 President Andrew Jackson approved a fireproof patent office. The architect Robert Mills used brick vaults and solid walls. The work took more than thirty years, and the last wing was finished in 1868. The great hall was open to the public. There people could see the inventions up close, next to paintings and sculptures.
Saved at the last minute
In the 1950s the building was in danger of being torn down. President Dwight Eisenhower decided to save it, and in 1958 Congress gave it to the Smithsonian.
Two museums under one roof
In 1968 two museums opened here. One is for American art; the other collects portraits of women and men who shaped the country's history. The great restoration, from 2000 to 2006, brought back colonnades, curved staircases and skylights as long as a city block.
