Smithsonian Castle & Haupt Garden: The Cradle of Knowledge
Why is it significant?
Conclude your journey before the fairytale turrets and red Seneca sandstone towers of the Smithsonian Castle on Jefferson Drive.
Key Facts
| Place | Smithsonian Castle & Haupt Garden: The Cradle of Knowledge |
|---|---|
| Address | 1000 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, DC 20560 |
| Geo Coordinates | 38.88880, -77.02600 |
| Part of Walk | The National Mall: Monuments to Freedom, Civil Rights, and Cold War Echoes |
| Generated | Generated |
Conclude your journey before the fairytale turrets and red Seneca sandstone towers of the Smithsonian Castle on Jefferson Drive. Designed by architect James Renwick Junior and completed in eighteen fifty-five, its Norman Romanesque battlements and Gothic arched windows look like an ancient medieval monastery transplanted directly onto the National Mall.
The institution was made possible by an extraordinary philanthropic gift: when British scientist James Smithson died in eighteen twenty-nine, he bequeathed his entire fortune of one hundred thousand gold sovereigns to the United States—a country he had never once visited! His will stipulated the funds be used to found an institution in Washington for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
Step inside the north foyer: in a small crypt to the left rests the marble tomb of James Smithson himself. In nineteen zero four, inventor Alexander Graham Bell traveled to Genoa, Italy, to personally escort Smithson's remains across the Atlantic to lie forever inside the castle his gold made possible.
Relax among the manicured parterres and fountains of the Enid A. Haupt Garden behind the castle. You have walked through the monumental spine of American democracy, where ideals carved into marble and bronze endure for all generations.