Earliest Known Sketches of the Smithsonian Institution Building

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Object Details

Author

Renwick, James 1818-1895

Subject

Renwick, James 1818-1895

Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)

Smithsonian Institution Building Competition

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.

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.

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

Standard number

SIA2012-1146

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Type

Paper

Drawing

Physical description

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

Data Source

Smithsonian Archives - History Div

Topic

Architecture, Gothic

Buildings

Architecture, Romanesque

Architectural drawing

Architecture

Architecture--Design and plans

Architectural design

Metadata Usage

Usage conditions apply

Record ID

siris_sic_13253