Description: The South Yard behind the Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle, is bordered on the east by the Arts and Industries Building and west by the Freer Gallery of Art. In the late 19th century, it was the site of small buildings for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Taxidermy Studio, National Zoological Park, and Aerodrome Studio. After World War I, a Quonset hut
Description: The National Zoological Park was conceived by William Temple Hornaday and established by an act of Congress in 1889. The Smithsonian’s collection of living animals was originally intended to aid taxidermists’ studies, but Smithsonian Secretaries Spencer F. Baird and Samuel P. Langley helped expand the small menagerie’s purpose. Today it houses over 2,000 animals of around 400