Smithsonian Institution Building Smithsonian Institution Building The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. The building is constructed of Seneca red sandstone in the faux Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs; built in the Gothic and Romanesque revival styles) and is nicknamed The Castle. It was completed in 1855 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The Castle was the first Smithsonian building, designed by architect James Renwick, Jr., whose other works
Smithsonian American Art Museum the Smithsonian Institution, was started in 2005 and, as of 2013, the blog "has approximately 12,000 readers each month." President Abraham Lincoln held his inaugural ball in the gallery currently called the Lincoln Gallery. In 2006, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi designed the conservators' denim work aprons. In 2008, the American Art Museum hosted an alternate reality game, called "Ghosts of a Chance", which was created by City Mystery. The game allowed patrons "a new way of engaging with the collection" in the Luce Foundation Center. The game ran for six weeks and attracted more than 6,000 participants. Smithsonian American Art