Letter A. W. Innamorati to James Bradley, August 8, 1966, Page 1 of 1
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- A letter from A. W. Innamorati, Regional Director of the Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration, to James Bradley, Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, acknowledging the transfer of the U.S. Court of Claims Building, now the Renwick Gallery, to Smithsonian custody.
- William Wilson Corcoran began construction on his gallery of art at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1859 and hired as the architect James Renwick, Jr., who had designed the Smithsonian Institution Building, or "Castle." The building was seized by the government in 1861 and used as a warehouse and office space for Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs during the Civil War. The building was eventually returned to Corcoran, and opened as his art gallery in 1872. When his collection outgrew the space, he built a new gallery nearby. The building was later used as the U.S. Court of Claims Building until 1965, when it was transferred to the Smithsonian and renovated for use as the Renwick Gallery of Art, devoted to American crafts and decorative arts.
Subject
- Bradley, James C. 1910-1984
- Corcoran, W. W (William Wilson) 1798-1888
- Renwick, James 1818-1895
- Court of Claims Building
- Renwick Gallery
- Corcoran Gallery of Art
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- United States General Services Administration
- United States Public Buildings Service
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 99, Box 69, Folder: 1
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
- August 8, 1966
- Civil War, 1861-1865
- 1961-1970
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Museum buildings
- Art museums
- Letters
- Smithsonian Institution
- Personnel management
- Transfers
- Employees
- Interagency Transfers
- History
- Smithsonian Institution--Employees
Place
- United States
- Washington (D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Document
- Letters (correspondence)
- Paper
ID Number
SIA2011-1432
Physical description
Number of Images: 1 ; Color: Color ; Size: 8w x 10.5h ; Type of Image: Document ; Medium: Paper