Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
This observatory was established in March 1890 and was one of the first to practice astrophysics. It was housed in buildings in the South Yard of the Smithsonian Institution Building's grounds. Early research conducted on the site focused on solar radiation. In the 1950s, the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Institution</a> created a partnership with Harvard University and the Astrophysical Observatory headquarters moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!sichronology&uri=full=3100001~!10251~!0#focus">View original</a>.
1899
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-1919">1890-1919</a>
Annex Building of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The original Bureau of Engraving and Printing was opened on July 1, 1880, but by the 1930s, the facility had become too small for all of the Bureau's responsibilities, which included printing money, stamps, and government security documents. In 1938, a new facility was opened across the street from the original building. Beneath the building are two tunnels, one walkway connecting to the main building and one set of railroad tracks connecting to a freight-receiving building. The tracks are no longer in use.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Louis+M.+Simon">Louis M. Simon</a>
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2009012111/">View original</a>.
05/17/1938 (completed)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
Original Department of Agriculture Building
The original building which housed the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/289">Department of Agriculture</a> was designed in 1867 by <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/70">Adolf Cluss</a>, the same architect who designed the Smithsonian Arts and Industry Building. For decades, this building housed offices, research laboratories, and even a small museum. <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/466">The building was razed in 1930 to fulfill the McMillan Commission's plan for the National Mall</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Adolf+Cluss">Adolf Cluss</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=J.+W.+von+Kammerhueber">J. W. von Kammerhueber</a>
National Archives at College Park. <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/512817">View original</a>.
1868 (construction completed)
1930 (demolished)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>
Hains Point Teahouse
The first teahouse in Hains Point, the southernmost tip of East Potomac Park, was a refreshment stand opened in 1920 and run by local Girl Scouts. It was very popular, and in 1922 construction began on a permanent structure with restrooms, which opened in 1924. Both the stand and building served light refreshments to park visitors. In 1925, park authorities transferred operation of the tearoom from the Girl Scouts to the Welfare and Recreation Association of Public Buildings and Grounds. By 1969, business had slowed significantly. The teahouse closed in 1985 and was demolished in 1987.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/dc0598.photos.028694p/">View original</a>.
1924 (opened)
1987 (removed)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
Native Landscape at the National Museum of the American Indian
The grounds surrounding the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/49">National Museum of the American Indian</a> are an extension of the exhibit space within. Representing what local Chesapeake Bay landscapes would have been like before European contact, the space pays tribute to indigenous social and spiritual land use patterns. The landscape includes features such as a hardwood forest, wetlands, meadows, Grandfather Rocks, and traditional croplands. More than 33,000 plants of approximately 150 species can be found throughout the landscape. There are also performances for visitors at the outdoor amphitheater and fire pit.
Smithsonian Institution. <a href="http://www.gardens.si.edu/our-gardens/native-landscape.html">View original</a>.
2004
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2000-present">2000-present</a>
Floral Library
Also known as the Tulip Library, the Floral Library was established in 1969 as part of <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/438">Lady Bird Johnson's Capital Beautification Project</a>. The 'library' has 93 flower beds maintained by the National Park Service. These beds feature either tulips or annuals depending on the planting season. The flowers require up to 10,000 bulbs to be planted by hand each year.
National Park Service. <a href="http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/TulipLibrary2007.pdf">View original.</a>
1969
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>
Enid Haupt Garden
The Enid Haupt Garden was created in the 1980s as part of a redesign of the area around the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Castle</a>. It sits to the south of the Castle and above the underground galleries and offices of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/53">National Museum of African Art</a>, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/54">Arthur M. Sackler Gallery</a>, and <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/134">S. Dillon Ripley </a>Center. The garden is named for publisher and horticultural philanthropist Enid A. Haupt. The design of the garden is a modern take on American gardens from the mid-to-late 1800s.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jean+Paul+Carlhian">Jean Paul Carlhian</a>
Smithsonian Gardens. <a href="http://gardens.si.edu/our-gardens/haupt-garden.html">View original</a>.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
Tidal Basin
The Tidal Basin serves several purposes on the National Mall. Primarily, it is a reservoir for the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/424">Potomac River</a> and Washington Channel. In the past, it has also served as a recreational area for <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/164">swimming</a>, ice skating, or <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/494">boating</a>. Built by <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/137">Alexander and Repass</a>, the Tidal Basin is lined with <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/24">Japanese Cherry Trees</a>, making it the center of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/480">Cherry Blossom Festival</a>, and it borders several monuments, including the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/31">Jefferson</a>, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/156">Martin Luther King Jr.</a>, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/27">FDR</a>, and <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/16">George Mason</a> memorials. All of these factors make the Basin one of the central natural and recreational features of the National Mall.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Alexander+and+Repass">Alexander and Repass</a>
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/hec2008005337/">View original.</a>
1949
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
Plans for a National Sculpture Garden on the Mall began in the 1960s, but it was not until 1991 that jurisdiction for the site was transferred from the National Park Service to the National Gallery. Olin Partnership, headed by Laurie D. Olin, designed the landscape, working with staff from the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/427">National Gallery of Art</a>. The first sculptures for the garden, many of which can still be seen today, were curated by Mark Rosenthal and Marla Prather. The middle of the garden is a fountain in summer and an ice rink in winter. Sculptures include works by American and international artists.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Laurie+D.+Olin">Laurie D. Olin</a>
5/23/1999 (opened to public)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a>
National Gallery of Art West Building
In the 1920s, art collector and financier Andrew Mellon decided that the city needed a proper museum of art to rival those in Europe. With construction funds, a sizable endowment, and art all donated from Mellon, construction on the National Gallery of Art was begun in 1937. The building, designed in a classical style by John Russell Pope, was dedicated on March 17, 1941. The museum quickly attracted donations from other prominent art dealers, and today features art from around the world.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=John+Russell+Pope">John Russell Pope</a>
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/gsc1994016286/PP/">View original.</a>
03/17/1941 (Dedicated)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>