Old Patent Office Building

Old Patent Office
The Old Patent Office in 2011
LocationWashington, D.C., U.S.
Coordinates38°53′52.1″N 77°01′22.8″W / 38.897806°N 77.023000°W / 38.897806; -77.023000
Built1836–1867
Architectural styleGreek Revival[1][2]
Visitation1.3 million (2017)[3]
NRHP reference No.66000902[1][2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1][4][5]
Designated NHLJanuary 12, 1965[2]

The Old Patent Office Building is a historic building in Washington, D.C. that covers an entire city block between F and G Streets and 7th and 9th Streets NW in the Penn Quarter section of Chinatown. Built 1836–1867 in the Greek Revival style, the building first served as one of the earliest U.S. Patent Office buildings.

The building has housed many U.S. federal government departments, including the first exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution.[6] The structure now houses two Smithsonian art museums: the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

  1. ^ a b c "National Register of Historic Places: NPS Focus". United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  2. ^ a b c "National Historic Landmarks Program: Old Patent Office". National Park Service. 2010-01-24.
  3. ^ "Visitor Statistics". Smithsonian Newsdesk. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. ^ Robinson, Judith; Cantell, Sophie; Kerr, Tim, Robinson & Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C. (2004-08-23). "Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. pp. 38–39, 101, 111–112. Retrieved 2011-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Morton, W. Brown III (1971-02-08). "Old Patent Office". United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service.
  6. ^ Adler, A. (2011-05-01). "From the Pacific to the Patent Office: The US Exploring Expedition and the origins of America's first national museum". Journal of the History of Collections. 23 (1): 49–74. doi:10.1093/jhc/fhq002. ISSN 0954-6650.