The
Smithsonian is one of America's great scientific and
cultural landmarks, and wouldn't have been possible
without the generosity of an Englishman. In 1846 James
Smithson, an English scientist and son of the Duke
of Northumberland, donated half a million dollars
to found the Institution. With this heritage, it is
only fitting that the building should resemble some
sort of castle. But it is also ironic that it takes
that form because when Congress chartered the Smithsonian,
specific orders were given to make it very plain and
"without unnecessary ornament." Instead they got James
Renwick's interpretation of medieval revival.
In
spite of what you see at first glance, this is not
a uniform building. It is a work of subtle asymmetry
with one end done in a fortress motif, the other as
a cathedral. In between there are a number of chimneys
and ramparts, no two the same. Still, the intent and
the effect is that of an English college.
At
the time of its completion, the Castle held offices,
a lecture hall, library, chemical laboratory, natural
history laboratory, art gallery, science museum, archives,
and even for a time the home of its first secretary.
It wasn't until the 1960's that the Smithsonian moved
beyond its original building. Today the Castle is
the administration building, and an information center.
The rest of the institute and its 140,000,000 artifacts
are scattered among 16 museums and galleries, the
National Zoo, and a number of research facilities
around the world.
The
Smithsonian's features have inspired the architecture
at a number of colleges, from the University of Chicago
to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.
More importantly, its architecture used a number of
old world styles to give American builders permission
to break away from the copies of old world buildings
they were producing.
- A
polka about the Smithsonian was written in 1855.
