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This illustrated guide pays tribute to the buildings of the Smithsonian. Each building represents the work of a major architect and harks to a specific time in history, from the mid-nineteenth century Castle with its turrets, to the Victoria-era Arts and Industries building, to the modern mid-century of the Air and Space Museum reflecting the sky, to the golden, twenty-first-century American Indian Museum.

Nearly two hundred black-and-white photographs illustrate the architecture while the narrative reveals some secrets and anecdotes from more than a century and a half of the history of the Smithsonian.

Begin with the Castle at the heart of the Smithsonian; move on to the Arts and Industries Building, the National Zoological Park, and the National Museum of Natural History. Then explore the Freer Gallery of Art and the National Museum of American History at the Kenneth E. Behring Center and the Smithsonian America Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in the Old Patent Office Building. Follow this with a visit to the Renwick Gallery of Art, the Anacostia Community Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

The National Air and Space Museum pays tribute to the pioneers of flight and the accomplishments of astronauts reaching beyond planet Earth. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center houses the Smithsonian’s largest aviation and space artifacts; the Center includes both the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar as well as a one hundred sixty-four foot observation tower.

The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Quadrangle, the National Postal Museum, and the National Museum of the American Indian, along with the Smithsonian Research Centers, complete the architectural tour.

Also included: a chronology, a directory, and a selected bibliography.

For readers interested in architecture, this book is a treasure-trove of pictures and information.

Highly recommended. ( )

Given the photos are all black and white, I thought this book was older than it was and that it might already be out out date. The publication is listed as 2009 so I am assuming it is still accurate. Lots of photos of the different buildings including how they were many years ago. Great little history. ( )

DC tour preparation book... ( )