Old Patent Office Building
Encyclopedia
The historic Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C.
covers an entire city block
defined by F and G Streets and 7th
and 9th Streets NW in Chinatown
. After undergoing extensive renovations, the building reopened on July 1, 2006 and was renamed The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in honor of a gift from the Donald W. Reynolds
Foundation. The building houses two Smithsonian Institution
museums: the National Portrait Gallery
and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
.
Designed in the Greek Revival
style by architect Robert Mills
, construction started in 1836, and the massive structure took 31 years to complete. United States patent law
required inventors to submit scale models of their inventions, which were retained by the Patent Office and required housing. Once home to many early government departments, today the structure houses two museums of the Smithsonian Institution
, the Smithsonian American Art Museum
and the National Portrait Gallery
.
In Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the capital city, the site of the Patent Office Building, halfway between the Capitol
and the President's House
, was set aside for a monumental structure. L'Enfant envisaged a nondenominational "church of the Republic", which he later modified to a Pantheon devoted to great Americans. Mill's described the proportions of the Greek Revival
central portico as "exactly those of the Parthenon of Athens
", a departure in Washington, where previously ambitious public buildings had been based on Roman and Renaissance precedents. Fireproofing the design was an essential concern: Mills spanned the interior spaces with masonry vaulting without the use of wooden beams. Skylights and interior light courts filled the spaces with daylight.
After years of political infighting, in which Congressional committees questioned Mills' competence and insisted on design changes that inserted unnecessary supporting columns and tie-rods, Mills was summarily dismissed in 1851. Construction continued under the direction of Thomas U. Walter
, one of Mills' harshest critics and was completed in 1865. The building's west wing suffered a fire in 1877, destroying some 87,000 patent model
s; it was restored by Adolf Cluss
, 1877–1885, in the style he termed "modern Renaissance"
.
In the 1850s, Clara Barton
worked in the building as a clerk to the Patent Commissioner, the first woman federal employee to receive equal pay. During the Civil War
, the building was turned into military barracks, hospital, and morgue. Wounded soldiers lay on cots in second-floor galleries, among glass cases holding models of inventions that had been submitted with patent applications. The American poet Walt Whitman
frequented "that noblest of Washington buildings" and read to wounded men. The building was chosen as the venue for Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball in 1865.
In the 20th century, the building was occupied by the Patent Office until 1932; it then housed the Civil Service Commission
. A street-widening sliced away the monumental stairs to its south portico. In 1953, legislation was introduced to demolish the building for a parking lot; but President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed legislation giving it to the Smithsonian in 1958 (Public Law 85-357, 72 Stat. 68). This was an important victory for the historic preservation movement in the United States.
The Faulkner, Kingsbury & Stenhouse firm of architects supervised the renovation of the interior as museum space starting in 1964.
In 1965 the building received National Historic Landmark
designation.
The National Museum of American Art (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and the National Portrait Gallery opened in January 1968. The north wing housed the art museum and the south wing housed the portrait gallery. Office space and a cafe occupied the east wing. The center courtyard had outdoor eating space for the cafe and several large trees. The building was closed again for extensive renovations in 2000. When the Old Patent Office building celebrated its grand reopening in 2006, new additions included a revamped gallery space, the Visible Conservation Center, and the Luce Foundation Center for American Art which displays more than 3300 objects in glass cases. The renovation was the work of Warren Cox and Mary Kay Lanzillotta of Hartman-Cox Architects in Washington, D.C. The Kogod Courtyard with a canopy designed by Foster and Partners
and Buro Happold
opened to the public on November 18, 2007. It was named one of the "new seven wonders of the architecture world" by Condé Nast Traveler
magazine. Interior and exterior landscapes were designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
covers an entire city block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
defined by F and G Streets and 7th
7th Street (Washington, D.C.)
There are four north-south arteries in Washington, D.C. named Seventh Street that are differentiated by the quadrants of the city in which they are located. Historically, 7th Street has been a main north-south road in Washington, being the main route for travelers and farmers coming into the city...
and 9th Streets NW in Chinatown
Chinatown, Washington, D.C.
Chinatown in Washington, D.C., is a small, historic neighborhood east of downtown consisting of about 20 ethnic Chinese and other Asian restaurants and small businesses along H and I Streets between 5th and 8th Streets, Northwest. It is known for its annual Chinese New Year festival and parade and...
. After undergoing extensive renovations, the building reopened on July 1, 2006 and was renamed The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in honor of a gift from the Donald W. Reynolds
Donald W. Reynolds
Donald W. Reynolds was an American businessman and philanthropist. During his lifetime, he was best known for his involvement in the Donrey Media Group.-Biography:...
Foundation. The building houses two Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
museums: the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
.
History
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style by architect Robert Mills
Robert Mills (architect)
Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...
, construction started in 1836, and the massive structure took 31 years to complete. United States patent law
United States patent law
United States patent law was established "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" as provided by the United States Constitution. Congress implemented these...
required inventors to submit scale models of their inventions, which were retained by the Patent Office and required housing. Once home to many early government departments, today the structure houses two museums of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
and the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
.
In Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the capital city, the site of the Patent Office Building, halfway between the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
and the President's House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, was set aside for a monumental structure. L'Enfant envisaged a nondenominational "church of the Republic", which he later modified to a Pantheon devoted to great Americans. Mill's described the proportions of the Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
central portico as "exactly those of the Parthenon of Athens
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
", a departure in Washington, where previously ambitious public buildings had been based on Roman and Renaissance precedents. Fireproofing the design was an essential concern: Mills spanned the interior spaces with masonry vaulting without the use of wooden beams. Skylights and interior light courts filled the spaces with daylight.
After years of political infighting, in which Congressional committees questioned Mills' competence and insisted on design changes that inserted unnecessary supporting columns and tie-rods, Mills was summarily dismissed in 1851. Construction continued under the direction of Thomas U. Walter
Thomas U. Walter
Thomas Ustick Walter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American architect, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s...
, one of Mills' harshest critics and was completed in 1865. The building's west wing suffered a fire in 1877, destroying some 87,000 patent model
Patent model
A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model no larger than 12" by 12" by 12" that showed how an invention works...
s; it was restored by Adolf Cluss
Adolf Cluss
Adolf Cluss was a German-born American immigrant who became one of the most important architects in Washington, D.C., in the late 19th century, responsible for the design of numerous schools and other notable public buildings in the capital.He was born in 1825 in Heilbronn in the Kingdom of...
, 1877–1885, in the style he termed "modern Renaissance"
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
.
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.-Youth, education, and family nursing:...
worked in the building as a clerk to the Patent Commissioner, the first woman federal employee to receive equal pay. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the building was turned into military barracks, hospital, and morgue. Wounded soldiers lay on cots in second-floor galleries, among glass cases holding models of inventions that had been submitted with patent applications. The American poet Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
frequented "that noblest of Washington buildings" and read to wounded men. The building was chosen as the venue for Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball in 1865.
In the 20th century, the building was occupied by the Patent Office until 1932; it then housed the Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission
-Chairmen:*John Houghton MHK, 2004-date*George Waft MLC, 1996-2004*Clare Christian MLC, 1981-1982*Noel Cringle MLC, 1992-1996*Walter Gilbey, years unknown...
. A street-widening sliced away the monumental stairs to its south portico. In 1953, legislation was introduced to demolish the building for a parking lot; but President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
signed legislation giving it to the Smithsonian in 1958 (Public Law 85-357, 72 Stat. 68). This was an important victory for the historic preservation movement in the United States.
The Faulkner, Kingsbury & Stenhouse firm of architects supervised the renovation of the interior as museum space starting in 1964.
In 1965 the building received National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
designation.
The National Museum of American Art (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and the National Portrait Gallery opened in January 1968. The north wing housed the art museum and the south wing housed the portrait gallery. Office space and a cafe occupied the east wing. The center courtyard had outdoor eating space for the cafe and several large trees. The building was closed again for extensive renovations in 2000. When the Old Patent Office building celebrated its grand reopening in 2006, new additions included a revamped gallery space, the Visible Conservation Center, and the Luce Foundation Center for American Art which displays more than 3300 objects in glass cases. The renovation was the work of Warren Cox and Mary Kay Lanzillotta of Hartman-Cox Architects in Washington, D.C. The Kogod Courtyard with a canopy designed by Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
and Buro Happold
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
opened to the public on November 18, 2007. It was named one of the "new seven wonders of the architecture world" by Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveler is a US magazine published by Condé Nast. It has its origins in a mailing sent out by the Diners Club club beginning in 1953, listing locations that would take the card. It began taking advertising in 1955. In order to attract more advertisers, it became a full-fledged magazine,...
magazine. Interior and exterior landscapes were designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd.
External links
- Reynolds Center
- Listing at the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
- National Register of Historic Places: Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site (includes Old Patent Office):