National Building Museum -- Unbuilt Washington on Exhibit

Unbuilt Washington

November 19, 2011 to May 28, 2012

CURATOR, G. Martin Moeller, Jr., senior vice president and curator

Caption: Plan for the National Mall – Rendering of the Proposal for the Washington Monument grounds, by the Senate Park Commission, 1901-02.The wide steps, the circular pool, and the terraced gardens were all intended to provide a more dignified base for the monument, while resolving the awkward geometry resulting from its placement off the axis from the White House.
Credit: Courtesy of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

On exhibit are the myriad versions of Washington that could have been; architectural and urban design projects that were proposed but, for widely varied reasons, never executed. To tourists and residents, the city's greatest landmarks may seem so appropriate - so correct, so perfect - it is hard to imagine that they could have turned out completely differently. But nothing in the built environment was predestined. Here one can see, not just imagine, what Washington could have been like.

Exhibition Admission
Adults $8, Youth, Students, and Seniors $5
No Charge for Museum Members

More informationhttp://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/


National Building Museum
401 F Street NW
202.272.2448
Metro: Judiciary Square