Places (139 total)

Bronze statue of three Vietnam War soldiers in combat gear standing together, part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.
The Three Soldiers statue sits a few feet from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. This statue was added after the Wall opened to complement it and to offer an alternative memorial for critics who disliked the non-traditional design of the Wall. The…

Aerial view of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's V-shaped black granite wall, surrounded by trees and lawn, with visitors gathered along its length.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall opened in 1982 to honor more than 58,000 American casualties lost in the Vietnam War. Two black walls form a wide V that list the names of each person missing or dead in chronological order. Diamonds appear beside…

Tags:

Stainless steel statues of soldiers in ponchos and helmets at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, surrounded by trees and greenery.
On July 27, 1995, the presidents of the United States and the Republic of Korea dedicated the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the 42nd anniversary of the war's end. The memorial consists of an open triangle filled with 19 stainless-steel figures…

Tags:

Nighttime view of the World War II Memorial, with illuminated stone pillars topped by bronze wreaths lining a curved plaza leading to a triumphal arch.
The National World War II Memorial opened in 2004 to honor American soldiers and civilians who served during World War II. Supporters spent over 15 years gathering Congressional support and raising money to fund the construction of this memorial. To…

Tags:

West front of the United States Capitol with cows in the foreground
In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the Capitol, a building which saw more than 200 years of construction, redesigning, expansion, and renovation. By 1800, the building offered enough space for Congress, the Supreme Court,…

Tags: ,

Aerial view of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool flanked by temporary office buildings, with the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Memorial Bridge, and Potomac River in the background.
These buildings were erected by the federal government during World War II to create offices for the many workers who came for new, war-related jobs. The buildings were never meant to be permanent, and were referred to by locals as "tempos."…

Tags: , ,

Aerial photograph from 1919 showing long rows of temporary military office buildings on the National Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial visible in the upper left.
The Main Navy and Munitions temporary war buildings were built quickly in 1918 during World War I under the direction of Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to provide emergency offices for wartime workers. Nearly 14,000 U.S. Navy personnel…

Tags: ,

Arts and Industries Building<br alt= " title="Arts and Industries Building
">
The Arts and Industries Building opened in 1881 as the “US National Museum.” Spencer Baird, the second Secretary of the Smithsonian, developed exhibits for the museum that included objects from the Centennial Exposition of 1876 and samples of the…

Aerial view of the domed National Museum building (now the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building) with surrounding trees and lawns, and the city skyline visible in the background.
First known as the new National Museum, the National Museum of Natural History's building opened in 1910 after nearly 10 years of construction. The Museum's Beaux Arts design features a domed rotunda, columns, and a portico. The Museum first housed…

Exterior of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, with a diamond-shaped glass entrance and a banner advertising the "Devi: The Great Goddess" exhibition, flanked by trees under a clear blue sky.
Arthur M. Sackler donated his collection of Asian art and funds to build a new museum for the Smithsonian that bears his name. Opened in 1987, the Sackler Gallery is connected physically and thematically to the Freer Gallery by interpreting Asian…