Arts and Industries Building
Constructed between 1879 and 1881, this is the nation’s best-preserved example of nineteenth-century world’s fair architecture.
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Built to house the international exhibits left over from the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the Smithsonian Institution's Arts and Industries Building reflects the three principal requirements of buildings constructed to house world's fairs and other 19th-century expositions: to enclose a very large area; to present a tasteful, dramatic, and pleasing exterior; and to employ inexpensive construction technology. The architects were Cluss & Schulze.
The Arts and Industries Building represents the new creation of the formal Mall, as envisioned by the McMillan Commission.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: November 11, 1971
National Historic Landmark: November 11, 1971
