In 1911, a new U.S. National Museum Building, now known as the Natural History Building, opened across the Mall from Baird's building. Natural History Building when it opened in 1911 The anthropology, art and natural history collections were moved to the new building, leaving the historical collections in the "Old National Museum," which was renamed the Arts and Industries Building. In the next few years, the historical exhibits expanded into all of the A&I exhibit halls. Curators, with limited budgets, continued to use the mahogany cases built in 1881, which could be easily reconfigured. Although dubbed the "Old National Museum," the Arts and Industries Building housed very popular exhibits that attracted many visitors. In 1912, Mrs. Howard Taft donated the first gown to the First Ladies Collection, which grew rapidly in the following decades. The First Ladies Gowns soon became one of the Museum's most popular exhibits. The collection of historical relics continued to expand with donations from the colonial and federal periods. Early American history was displayed through exhibits on everyday life, as well as great historical figures. During and after the World War, the public flocked to see the military equipment collection inside and outside of the museum. Collections of coins, medals and stamps attracted a loyal audience of collectors. The growing aviation collection sparked great interest, especially the "Spirit of St. Louis," which went on display in 1928. New technologies such as photography, telegraphy, the telephone, and the automobile were explained to the general public in the history of technology exhibits. Working models of coal mines and other extractive technologies demonstrated industrial processes.

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