Smithsonian American History Museum
Undergoing Makeover
by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

Summary: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., closed on September 5 for a large-scale, nearly two-year architectural renovation. Opened in 1964, the museum has never undergone a renovation of this magnitude. It will reopen in the summer of 2008. The renovation will focus on three areas: architectural enhancements to the museum’s interior, construction of a state-of-the-art gallery for the Star-Spangled Banner, and an updated infrastructure. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill will be responsible for new design and construction, and New York-based Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. will work with SOM on the new permanent gallery for the Star-Spangled Banner.

The National Museum of American History, located on the National Mall, comprises approximately 750,000 square feet and includes three main exhibition levels, two office levels, and a basement. Concerns over its existing logistical layout of limited sight lines, poor lighting, clutter, and inadequate exhibit space precipitated the museum to plan an interior design overhaul. The current renovation project will cost approximately $85 million, with $45 million coming from federal funds to cover costs to the infrastructure and the protection of the exhibit collections during construction.

At the center of the renovation, literally, will be a three-level, skylighted atrium designed to open the building dramatically and allow for improved navigation. This includes removing marble panels that currently block the view to the museum’s third floor from below. Ten-foot-high “artifact walls” will be installed on both the first and second floors showcasing the wide range of the museum’s 3 million objects. On the first floor, there will be a new exhibition gallery for the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, a new lobby for the 275-seat Carmichael Auditorium, and new retail operations. New entrance vestibules will be created on the first and second floors to help alleviate crowding, and a new Welcome Center will be created on the second floor to improve visitor orientation. Finally, the atrium will feature a grand staircase to connect the museum’s first and second floors.

A new home for the Star-Spangled Banner
At the heart of the museum’s architectural transformation is the creation of a new dramatic display gallery for one of its most treasured icons—the 200-year-old woolen and cotton Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem. The new Star-Spangled Banner gallery will become the central focal point of the second floor, where more than two-thirds of museum visitors enter. The 30x34-foot flag, close to three-stories high, has hung in a variety of positions and locations over the years—from hanging vertically in its entirety (until unable to support its own weight) to resting flat horizontally behind glass.

The Smithsonian has cared for the flag for nearly a century, and conservators’ recent examinations concluded a new environment within the museum was needed to protect it further. As a result, the new Star-Spangled Banner gallery will be designed with preservation in mind and include low light levels, a display angle of no greater than 10 degrees of elevation, stable temperature and relative humidity levels, a “clean room” environment, and physical security systems. The gallery will have floor-to-ceiling glass windows to evoke the “dawn’s early light” in which Francis Scott Key saw the flag in 1814. In addition, an abstract 40x19-foot flag of lightweight, reflective polycarbonate will be placed above the entrance to the gallery.

“The Star-Spangled Banner is one of our nation’s most treasured objects, a symbol of what this country stands for,” says museum director, Brent D. Glass. “Its new surroundings are part of a strategic plan to ensure the long-term preservation of the flag and revitalize the entire museum to tell the story of America and help future generations experience what it means to be an American.”

Improved infrastructure
The renovation work to the museum’s infrastructure will include:

• Replaced and relocated public and staff elevators, resulting in improved access to the lower level and the three exhibition floors
• New HVAC systems at the central core
• Upgraded fire and alarm systems
• Improved electrical systems
• Better security
• Several new restrooms, including four family restrooms.

“The National Museum of American History is a fundamentally important national treasure,” states museum board chair Richard Darman. “These changes will dramatically transform the building and the presentation of its collections, inspiring millions of visitors by creating a grand, open, and easily navigated environment.”

Philanthropist donations will cover the cost of the architectural enhancements.