Earliest Known Sketches of the Smithsonian Institution Building

Summary

• Four Gothic scheme sketches of the proposed Smithsonian Institution Building drawn by architect James Renwick, Jr. The sketches, made in pencil and some ink on paper, include: an elevation of the north facade, a plan of the first floor, an elevation of the west wing, and an elevation of the south central tower and are the earliest known conceptual drawings that the architect made.
• James Renwick, Jr., began his design of the Smithsonian Institution Building with a Gothic castle and eventually reworked it into a Romanesque castle. This later scheme won him the competition in 1846 to appoint an architect for the design of the Smithsonian's first building.

Subject

• Renwick, James 1818-1895
• Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
• Smithsonian Institution Building Competition

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

Published in C. R. Field, R. E. Stamm, and H. P. Ewing, The Castle: An Illustrated History of the Smithsonian Building, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993, pg.9.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 92, Item 294

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1846

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Design
• Architecture
• Architecture, Romanesque
• Drawings
• Architecture, Gothic
• Buildings
• Architectural drawing
• Architecture--Design and plans
• Architectural design

Form/Genre

• Paper
• Drawing

ID Number

SIA2012-1146

Physical description

Number of Images: 1 Color: Color ; Size: 10.5w x 7h] ; Type of Image: Architectural Drawing ; Medium: Paper

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