National Building Museum

The National Building Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. dedicated to "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning." It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit institution. The museum is located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and the Judiciary Square Metro station.

Related Topics:
Museum - Washington, D.C. - Architecture - Design - Engineering - Construction - Urban planning - Congress - 1980 - Non-profit institution - National Law Enforcement Memorial - Judiciary Square - Metro

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It is housed in the former Pension Bureau building, a brick structure completed in 1887 and designed by Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, the U.S. Army quartermaster general who modeled it on Michelangelo's Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The building is notable for several architectural features including the spectacular interior columns and a frieze sculpted by Casper Buberl stretching around the exterior of the building depicting Civil War soldiers in scenes reminiscent of those on Trajan's Column in Rome. The vast interior, measuring 316 ft. (96 m.) × 116 ft. (35 m.), has been used to hold inauguration balls since the building's construction and a Presidential Seal is set into the floor near the south entrance.

Related Topics:
1887 - Montgomery C. Meigs - U.S. Army - Quartermaster general - Michelangelo - Palazzo Farnese - Rome - Frieze - Casper Buberl - Civil War - Trajan's Column - Inauguration - Presidential Seal

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