Description: The Smithsonian Castle sits just over a mile away from Washington D.C.’s most notable address,1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are more than just a short walk away from the White House, however—we are directly tied to it and its occupants. Not only does the Smithsonian collect the history of United States Presidents (including, yes, Lincoln’s top hat and even the hair of a few
Description: This spring, the Archives welcomed Heather Weiss, a Project SEARCH intern, and as her time with us comes to an end, we wanted to highlight her accomplishments.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: On June 11, 1927, 25-year-old Charles Lindbergh, and his plane Spirit of St. Louis, arrived back in the United States, and Washington, D.C. threw a party.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9592,size=200,left]Did you know the Smithsonian was an early adopter of the telephone? In June of 1878, a system of electronic bells and telephones was installed throughout the Smithsonian Castle. The system connected several workrooms and offices to provide instant communications within the building. At that time, there were only 187 telephone lines
Description: This summer, have a little fun with images from our collections that have been designated as open access. Anyone can now download, transform, share, and reuse millions of images as part of Smithsonian Open Access.
Description: Sure, you’ve heard of famed composer John Philip Sousa. But did you know that Sousa composed a march just for the Smithsonian?On November 6, 1854, the “March King” John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. With roots in Southeast Washington near the Marine Barracks, where his father played trombone in the United States Marine Band, it should have been of no surprise to
Description: Exhibit case filled with West African knives, shields and axes from an exhibition of the Herbert Ward African Collection in the Museum of Natural History, MNH-26819H.
Description: Framing the West is a new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It features 120 of the extraordinary photographs Timothy O’Sullivan made for the King and Wheeler Surveys, two of the most important geological surveys of the western United States. The exhibition demonstrates not only the ability of the camera to capture the details of place, but the talent of