Columbian Institute
The <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/385">Columbian Institute</a> was a Washington organization dedicated to the promotion of the arts and sciences for the benefit of the nation. In 1820, two years after their official charter was approved by Congress, the Institute was granted five acres of land on the Mall to create a botanic garden, just west of the Capitol grounds. The plans to follow the garden with a museum and library, described in this article, were never realized. The botanic garden was abandoned by the late 1830s as the organization slowly dissolved.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Columbian+Institute">Columbian Institute</a>
The Medical Heritage Library via the Internet Archive. <a href="https://archive.org/details/2548036R.nlm.nih.gov">View original document</a>.
06/28/1816
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1800-1829">1800-1829</a>
Audience for Smithsonian's 150th Birthday Concert
The <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Institution</a> celebrated its 150th birthday in 1996 with special exhibits and multi-day celebration on the Mall. There were multiple stages set up, with daytime performances from a wide variety of performers. On August 10 there was a special evening concert emceed by Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and featuring Aretha Franklin, Trisha Yearwood, and Buffy Sainte-Marie with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. After the concert there was a fireworks display.
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!sichronology&uri=full=3100001~!10445~!0#focus">View original</a>.
8/10/1996
<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>
Joseph Henry
Henry was a noted scientist in the United States when he was selected to serve as the first Secretary, or chief executive officer, of the new <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/194">Smithsonian Institution</a> in 1846. He served for 30 years, developing the new museum as a center for research, publications, and international exchange. During his tenure, the Smithsonian provided important support for scientists by coordinating and funding research, publishing original studies, and facilitating communication among scientists in the United States and abroad. He lived <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/456">with his family</a> in the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Castle</a> until his death in 1878.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Joseph+Henry">Joseph Henry</a>
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9168">View original image.</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1830-1859">1830-1859</a>
<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>
Aircraft Building
The Aircraft Building was constructed in 1917 for the use of the US Signal Service during World War I. After the war ended, the building was transferred to the Smithsonian. It opened to the public in October 1920 as an exhibit space housing aircraft. In the 1940s, it became the temporary home of the National Air Museum, established in 1946. Items on display included the Lockheed Vega <em>Winnie Mae</em> which flew around the world in eight days. The building was demolished in December 1975, once work was completed on a permanent building for the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/269">National Air and Space Museum</a>.
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!sichronology&uri=full=3100001~!10280~!0#focus">View original</a>.
1917 (built)
1920 (open to public)
1975 (closed and demolished)
<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=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>
William Temple Hornaday
William Temple Hornaday was a hunter, taxidermist, zoo director, and a founder of the American conservation movement. He served as Chief Taxidermist of the United States National Museum from 1882, Curator of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/233">Department of Living Animals</a>, and the first Superintendent of the National Zoological Park. Hornaday acquired live bison during a trip to Montana, which he <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/260">displayed</a> with other animal exhibits behind the Smithsonian Castle in 1886. The successful expedition produced the most complete scientific series, and an artistic grouping of taxidermied specimens of the American bison displayed for 70 years in the Smithsonian.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=William+Temple+Hornaday">William Temple Hornaday</a>
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_7983">View original image</a>.
<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>
Department of Living Animals, Smithsonian Institution
A bear, an eagle, badgers, and <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/260">buffaloes</a> comprised the original exhibition of the Department of Living Animals on the south side of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Institution Building</a>. Opened to the public in 1887, the Department's live exhibits gave <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/482">Smithsonian taxidermists</a> an opportunity to observe the habits and positions of various animals and to use this knowledge in mounting collections and exhibitions. Under the direction of <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/234">William Hornaday</a>, the Department of Living Animals was the forerunner of the National Zoological Park, established by an Act of Congress in 1889 for "the advancement of science, the instruction and recreation of the people."
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9561">View original</a>.
1887
<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>
Queen Elizabeth visits the Smithsonian "Castle"
In July of 1976 Queen Elizabeth II came to the US to commemorate the Bicentennial of the American Revolution. One of her stops while in Washington, DC, was the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">Smithsonian Institution Building</a>, or the “Castle,” and the National Mall. The night before, her Majesty had been an honored guest at a state dinner in the Rose Garden within <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/20">President’s Park</a>, hosted by President Gerald Ford. At the Castle, she was greeted by the Smithsonian's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, and Secretary <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/134">S. Dillon Ripley.</a>
Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_8561?back=%2Fcollections%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3D1976%2520queen%2520elizabeth%26page%3D1%26perpage%3D10%26sort%3Drelevancy%26view%3Dlist">View original</a>.
07/08/1976
<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>
First Festival of American Folklife
Now called the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the first Festival of American Folklife was created by Secretary of the Smithsonian <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/134">S. Dillon Ripley</a> and James R. Morris. Smithsonian Secretary Dillon Ripley wanted to change museums from stuffy institutions to lively participants in national life. The festival included about 84 folk artists, including musicians, craftsmen and women, singers, and dancers. It has grown to become one of the largest annual cultural events in Washington, bringing more than 23,000 musicians, artists, performers, craftspeople, workers, cooks, storytellers, and others to the National Mall to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and aesthetics of people around the world.
Smithsonian Institution Archive. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_12934?back=%2Fcollections%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3Dfolklife%2520music%26page%3D1%26perpage%3D10%26sort%3Drelevancy%26view%3Dlist">View original</a>.
07/1967
<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>
Presidents' Day snowstorm of 1979
On Presidents' Day 1979 a 22-inch blizzard shut down Washington, DC. Forecasters had predicted that the storm would bypass the city, so residents and city planners were taken by surprise. For the first time in fifty years, the Smithsonian museums were closed for two days in a row. Farmers in town to protest agricultural policy as part of a movement called <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/242">"Tractorcade"</a> used their tractors to help clear streets and get emergency personnel to hospitals.
Smithsonian Institution Archive. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/sneak-peek-02012012">View original</a>.
02/19/1979
<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>
Work Begins on the Smithsonian "Castle"
<a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/74">James Renwick, Jr </a>began work on the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/52">original Smithsonian Institution building</a> in 1847. Renwick's design was inspired by western European structures originally built in the 1100s, making this Gothic Revival building look like a castle. When construction began, <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/355">the Mall was quiet</a> and the Smithsonian building was isolated from the city Washington. When it opened in 1855, the Castle housed the first museum on the Mall.
<p>Smithsonian Institution Archives. <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_10696">View original</a>.</p>
1847
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1830-1859">1830-1859</a>