The National Building Museum: It's a Seldom Seen DC Must-See

The Great Hall of Dancing Presidents

Some of the most enjoyable things in life are totally unscripted.  And that was the case today with our visit to the National Building Museum.

Here's how our unplanned visit happened.  We had decided to grab lunch in Chinatown and then head to the National Air and Space Museum to view an art exhibit there on space exploration. However, while strolling after lunch, we came upon a huge, striking brick building which we decided to check out. And 4-and-a-half hours and 2 docent-led tours later, filled with more details and facts about building than we knew we wanted to know, we were really glad we did.

The NMB, built in the 1880s by Civil War Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs, was orginially designed to house the U.S. Pension Bureau. After falling into disrepair, it was saved from the wrecking ball in the 1980s for its current use.  One of the most striking features of the brick building (at one time the largest such building in the world) is its massive Great Hall, which is the only place in DC besides the White House to house the presidential seal. That's because the hall has been the historic scene of 19 inaugural balls.  Grover Cleveland held the 1st ball inside the then-unfinished hall in 1885. In 2009, Barack Obama scheduled his Commander-in-Chief Ball there.  Oh, and by the way, if you would like to host your own event in the hall you can. All you need is $30,000 for 4 hours of rent.

The museum is currently home to several permanent and temporary exhibitions. Two of those, Lego Architecture: Towering Ambition and Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s, are profiled in posts below.  The others are:
-- Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of (Art Deco Muralist) Hildreth Meiere (until Jan.2)
-- Investigating Where We Live (students' interpretations of 3 DC neighborhoods until May 28)
-- Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection(long-term)
-- and Washington: City and Symbol (also long-term)

The museum also houses a building zone where youngsters 2 to 6 are introduced to the building arts through play and a museum store which The Washington Post heralds as "the best all-around shop in DC"

Travelers' Tip:
While you can view the exhibits on your own or with a self guided tour sheet, I recommend that you take 1 (or more) of the daily guided tours.  The docents are knowledgeable, the experience deepens your experience, and the cost is perfect - all tours are included in the $8 entrance fee.