The Castle Exterior - Renwick's Red Sandstone
Photo: User:Noclip, public domain (cropped)
A stop on Washington DC National Mall Walking Tour, a free self-guided tour.
The Castle is closed for renovation, so this is a building to enjoy from the outside. Stand on the Mall side and count the towers: there are nine, of different heights and shapes.
James Renwick Jr., who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, chose a medieval Norman style, unusual for Washington. The stone is red sandstone from a quarry at Seneca, Maryland, on the Potomac, shipped down the C and O Canal.
In 1865 a fire started by workers broke out in the upper floors, destroying many of Joseph Henry's papers and James Smithson's own belongings. The rebuilt interior was made more fireproof.
The current renovation is the first major overhaul in more than 50 years. The first floor was open briefly in summer 2026; check the Smithsonian's website for when it will reopen.
Next, find the north entrance, home of Smithson's crypt.
More on Wikipedia: Smithsonian Institution Building · James Renwick Jr.
Stops on this tour
- Washington Monument
- National Museum of African American History and Cu
- National Museum of American History
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- National Gallery of Art
- United States Capitol
- United States Botanic Garden
- National Museum of the American Indian
- National Air and Space Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- The Smithsonian Institution Building - The Castle
- Freer Gallery of Art
- Jefferson Memorial
- World War II Memorial
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
- Korean War Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- White House Ellipse
- White House
- Lafayette Square