Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden B. Johnson and Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley successfully campaigned for a new museum on the National Mall. In 1966, an Act of Congress established the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. Most of the funding was federal, but Hirshhorn later contributed $1-million toward construction. Joseph and his fourth wife, Olga Zatorsky Hirshhorn, visited the White House. The groundbreaking was in 1969 and Abram Lerner was named the founding Director. He oversaw research, conservation, and installation of more than 6,000 items brought from the Hirshhorns' Connecticut estate and other properties to Washington, DC. Joseph Hirshhorn spoke at the inauguration
Conservation and restoration at the Smithsonian Institution module, Hubble Space Telescope test vehicle, pace Shuttle "Discovery", B-29 Super-fortress "Enola Gay", Concorde, Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird, and Boeing Stratoliner. History, Care, and Handling of America's Spacesuits: Problems in Modern Materials by Mary T. Baker & Ed McManus At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Lunder Conservation Center, serves as the conservation center for three Smithsonian units; the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Renwick Gallery. Lunder is the first art conservation facility to allow the public permanent behind-the-scenes views of the preservation work of museums. The Center features floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow the public