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Summary
National Museum of American History's David Todd lends his clockmaker's art to the tricky job of refitting the newly gold-leafed hands to the clock of the Flag Tower of the Smithsonian Institution Building. Scaffolding has been erected. The image looking north, shows the National Museum of American History across the National Mall.
Subject
- Todd, David
- National Museum of American History (U.S.) (NMAH)
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Smithsonian Institution Building Flag Tower
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
The clock located on the Flag Tower faces all four sides of the tower: north, south, east, and west.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives Accession 98-015, Box 2, Folder: October 1991
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
1991
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Clocks and watches
- Conservation and restoration
- Scaffolding
- Smithsonian Institution
- Personnel management
- Employees
- Smithsonian Institution--Employees
Place
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
SIA2011-1452 or 91-13640-37
Physical description
Number of Images: 1 Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
Workmen on scaffolding repair the Northwest Tower of the Smithsonian Institution Building. The National Mall and the Washington Monument are visible in the background.
Subject
Smithsonian Institution Building Towers
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Box 25, Folder: 1
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
c. 1930s
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Towers
- Architecture
- Scaffolding
- Workmen
- Smithsonian Institution
- Personnel management
- Repair and reconstruction
- Roofs
- Employees
- Buildings--Repair and reconstruction
- Smithsonian Institution--Employees
- Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)
Place
- Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)
- Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
15103-B or MAH-15103B
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
View from the roof of the Natural History Building, now the National Museum of Natural History, of the National Mall shortly before it is cleared of trees and leveled. Across the Mall are the Smithsonian Institution Building and the Arts and Industries Building Parked along Madison Drive N.W. are automobiles of the 1920s.
Subject
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Arts and Industries Building
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Box 25, Folder: 2
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
1928
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Trees
- Landscapes
- Automobiles
Place
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Landscape
ID Number
SIA2011-1460 or 31274A
Physical description
Number of Images: 1 ; Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Landscape; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
- This image shows the Star-Spangled Banner as it was originally hung on the exterior of the Smithsonian Institution Building shortly after it was acquired for the National Museum. The flag was made during the summer of 1813 as a simple garrison flag, but after the British attacked Baltimore in 1814, it gained recognition as the "Star Spangled Banner". The flag became a valued keepsake of Major George Armistead, the commander of Baltimore's Fort McHenry, and was retained by his descendants. Eventually the family came to believe that the Star Spangled Banner belonged in a museum as an artifact of national heritage. Armistead's grandson, Eben Appleton, made inquires and corresponded with Smithsonian Secretary Charles D. Walcott. In 1907 Appleton loaned the flag to the Smithsonian Institution and later in 1912 he converted the loan to a gift. The flag was restored by the Smithsonian Institution in 1914. This negative has been altered, please see the note field.
- Packed in the wooden crate that Commodore George Preble had made for it in 1876, the flag was shipped from New York by Adams Express on July 5, 1907, and arrived at the Smithsonian the next day. Secretary Walcott was out of town, but Assistant Secretary Richard Rathbun had it hung on the exterior wall of the Castle and photographed. The flag was then placed in a case in the Arts and Industries Building's Hall of History, next to cases holding military artifacts that had belonged to George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant.
Subject
- Appleton, Eben
- Armistead, George 1780-1818
- Walcott, Charles D (Charles Doolittle) 1850-1927
- Rathbun, Richard 1852-1918
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Star-Spangled Banner (Flag)
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
- This is an altered version of the original of this negative. The Smithsonian Institution Building was whited out, and the partial "A" on the flag was whited out in this version. A copy print was made of the original, which has not been altered, see negative number SIA2011-1081 found in Record Unit 95, Box 53, Folder: 7.
- "Real Star-Spangled Banner," the Washington Post, July 21, 1907, page E8, contains a cropped version of this picture that still shows a small part of the Smithsonian Institution Building behind it.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 11-006
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
1907
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Loans
- United States Flag
- Architecture
- Gifts
- Flags
- Buildings
Form/Genre
- Object
- Glass plate negative
ID Number
19703A or MAH-19703A
Physical description
Color: Black and white; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Object; Medium: Glass plate negative
Full Record
Summary
View of the Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle, after a snow fall in 1903. The statue of Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian, facing the west end of the building, is visible in the foreground. Six cars are parked on a road in front of the Smithsonian Institution Building.
Subject
Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives Record Unit 7005, Box 189, Folder: 3
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
1903
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Snow
- Secretaries
- Joseph Henry Statue
- Statues
- Automobiles
Place
- District of Columbia
- Southwest
- United States of America
- Smithsonian Institution Building
- Washington
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
94-12566
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
View is looking out at the section of The Mall known as "Smithsonian Park," from the North Carriage Porch of the Smithsonian Institution Building, late 19th century.
Subject
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Smithsonian Park
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30A, Folder: 16
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
c. 1885
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
Carriage Porch
Place
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
1255 or MAH-1255
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
View of the North Tower, the Flag Tower and the Carriage Porch of the Smithsonian Institution Building from across the National Mall in the late 19th century. Trees and tall grass are in the foreground.
Subject
- Smithsonian Institution Building North Towers
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Smithsonian Institution Building Flag Tower
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
Similar view but including East Wing and Campanile Tower: neg # 72-1968.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Box 25, Folder: 3
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
c. 1870
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- North Front
- Smithsonian Institution Building
- North Entrance
- Carriage Porch
- Smithsonian Institution Building--North Entrance
- Smithsonian Institution Building--North Front
Place
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
72-1970
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
Few changes had occurred on the south facade of the Smithsonian Institution Building by 1885 except for the wooden shed to the right of the south door and the alteration of the entrance on the south side of the east wing into a freight loading platform ( removed in 1971). Benches have been placed along paths in the South Yard.
Subject
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- South Yard
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Box 25, Folder: 1
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
1885
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- South Front
- Smithsonian Institution Building
- Smithsonian Institution Building--South Front
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
45963 or 2889 or nhb-2889
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
The Campanile, North, and Flag Towers of the Smithsonian Institution Building seen from the northeast after the fire of 1865 destroyed the upper story of the main segment and the north and south towers. Between the Campanile and the North Towers, there is a man watering the grass, and The Mall, on the right of the photograph, is full of trees.
Subject
- Smithsonian Institution Building North Towers
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Box 25, Folder: 2
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
late 1800's
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- North front
- Flag Tower
- Smithsonian Institution Building
- Campanile Tower
- Smithsonian Institution Building--Flag Tower
Place
Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Exterior
ID Number
29731 or MAH-29731
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Exterior; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
Summary
Looking south from the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 11th Street, the silhouette of the Smithsonian Institution Building is seen in the distance. The photograph, taken by William Henry Holmes and signed "W.H.H. Phot.," shows horse-drawn carriages along the avenue of storefronts. Above the first building to the right of 11th Street, the sign reads "Latimer & Cleary Auction and Commission Merchants", the next building has a sign "Star Buildings," and the third building "Metropolitan."
Subject
- Holmes, William Henry 1846-1933
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 67, Folder: 8
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
April 10, 1874
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Carriages
- Stores, Retail
- Buildings, structures, etc
- Landscapes
- Animals
- Architecture
- Pennsylvania Avenue
- Signs
- Signs and signboards
- Washington, D.C
- Horses
- Carriages and carts
- Buildings--Washington, D.C
Place
Washington (D.C.)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Landscape
ID Number
48646 or MAH-48646
Physical description
Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Landscape; Medium: Photographic print
Full Record
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