Before the Smithsonian’s establishment in 1846, there were several ideas about what the Institution should be, as well as what its first building should hold.

All were based on a bequest by James Smithson, which mandated the founding of “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

To learn more about James Smithson and his mysterious bequest to the United States, join one of our Castle docent tours!

The Board of Regents, the Smithsonian’s governing body, held an architectural competition to design the building.

Rather than the classical style of numerous U.S. government buildings, the Regents’ wished for a medieval revival style to establish the distinction between the Smithsonian and other government structures.

This same style can be seen in colleges such as England’s Oxford University, where James Smithson attended.

There were 13 submissions to the competition and 28-year-old architect James Renwick Jr. was selected in January 1847.

Surprisingly, prior to his selection as architect, Renwick wasn’t really known for designing any notable buildings.

Today however, Renwick is known for designing St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Grace Church, both in New York City.

He also designed the building that now houses the Renwick Gallery here in D.C.!

This paper model was created by Renwick and was found in the Castle attic during the early 1970s, when the Castle was undergoing renovations.

The model looks different from the actual completed building in a few ways.

Can you tell the difference?

There’s an extra floor, an extra tower, and the color is different!

The Smithsonian Castle is made from red sandstone quarried in Seneca, Maryland.

This design choice further illustrates how the Smithsonian Castle is different from the other light-colored, classically styled government buildings on the National Mall.

Nineteen years after the Smithsonian was first established in 1846, on January 15, 1865, caretaker John Varden was working in the picture gallery (currently called the Castle Library),

to mount paintings on the walls.

He complained that it was too cold to work, so a large stove was moved into the gallery space.

When setting it up, the stovepipe was inserted into what was believed to be a flue, but it was instead an air space in the wall’s brick lining.

The stove was lit, and for the next week, as John worked on hanging the paintings, smoke and embers collected in the space under the roof.

On January 24th disaster struck: the embers caught fire.

Barrels of water were stored outside the building for such an occasion; however, due to the frigid temperatures of January, they were all frozen!

Much was lost, including James Smithson’s original papers and letters.

Within 3 days, a temporary roof was constructed to protect the collections.

Five years later, Congress appropriated $20,000 for reconstruction in 1870.

The International Exchange Service was established in 1848 and distributed scientific publications to American and foreign institutions, government departments, societies, and individuals around the world.

It was located on the first floor until 1893, when a suite of dark, damp rooms in the basement was renovated into well-lit, comfortable offices to which they relocated.

The shipping rooms were immediately adjacent to the offices of the International Exchange Service in the basement below the main hall.

Hundreds of thousands of packages annually moved in and out of those cramped quarters; at its peak during the postwar decades of the 1950s and 1960s well over a million packages were processed each year.

The International Exchange Service moved to the Arts and Industries building in 1966 and the basement offices were converted into laboratories for the Division of Radiation and Organisms, which studied photomechanisms in plants.

After those labs moved to Rockville, MD, in 1970, the offices were reassigned to the Smithsonian’s Office of Protection Services; where they remain today. In 2001, the employee food-service space, which occupied several rooms on the other side of the hallway, was renovated expanded, and renamed the Castle Staff Deli.

A new seating area for the deli was created from the old exchange offices.

Additional amenities have been added, such as the credit union, vending machines, a broiler room, and the kitchens!

Much like in the past, much of the present-day basement is also used for storage.