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
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in the United States to exhibit the Amsterdam School. The museum also tours exhibits through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The first exhibit they toured was 1978's "Close Observation: Selected Oil Sketches by Frederic E. Church." In 1993, the Cooper-Hewitt created the exhibition "The Power of Maps," which was its first exhibition to be shown on the National Mall at the S. Dillon Ripley Gallery. The exhibit featured upwards of 200 maps from around the world. William III and Mary II of England were the focus of a 1988 exhibition. An exhibition featuring 16th and 17th century decorative arts