Smithsonian Weighs Giving 1881 Arts and Industries Building to Latino Museum
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 21
Smithsonian Weighs Giving 1881 Arts and Industries Building to Latino Museum
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 21
Summary
An Aug. 31 Smithsonian board meeting will consider assigning the Arts and Industries Building to the National Museum of the American Latino instead of pursuing a newly built site.
That shift could let the museum avoid congressional approval, which is required for construction on National Park Service land and has become a bigger hurdle amid Trump administration attacks on the institution.
The Arts and Industries Building sits on the National Mall between the Smithsonian Castle and Hirshhorn Museum; it reopened this summer after renovations following a closure that began in 2004.
Four years ago, the building was dropped when the Smithsonian chose two other sites for the Latino and American Women’s History museums, but one of those plans stalled in May when the House rejected related legislation.
The Latino museum had also worried about approvals, water-table issues and a less central Mall location at one alternative site, adding to speculation the Smithsonian now wants a path less exposed to Capitol Hill.