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# Earliest Known Sketches of the Smithsonian Institution Building

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

                    - Share IconShare Icon                       - 
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                      - Print
                      -     Object Details- Author
- Renwick, James 1818-1895
- Subject
- Renwick, James 1818-1895
- Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
- Smithsonian Institution Building Competition
- Category
- Historic Images of the Smithsonian
- 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
- 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
- Smithsonian Archives - History Div
- Topic
- Architecture, Gothic
- Buildings
- Architecture, Romanesque
- Architectural drawing
- Architecture
- Architecture--Design and plans
- Architectural design
- Record ID
- siris_sic_13253
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
  CC0Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved iconUsage Conditions Apply>download icon>          There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .        International media Interoperability FrameworkIIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.View manifestView in Mirador ViewerExpand to view image×                             Footer logo      
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