The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., and is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums. It maintains the largest collection of aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and spaceflight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics. Almost all space and aircraft on display are originals or backup crafts to the originals.National Air and Space Museum is a Awesome Place For Vacations.
The National Air and Space Museum is widely considered one of Washington’s most significant works of modern architecture. Because of the museum site’s close proximity to the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian Institution wanted a building that would be architecturally impressive but would not stand out too boldly against the Capitol Building. St. Louis-based architect Gyo Obata of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum accepted the challenge and designed the museum as four simple travertine-encased cubes containing the smaller and more theatrical exhibits, connected by three spacious steel-and-glass atriums which house the larger exhibits such as missiles, airplanes and spacecraft. The museum, built by Gilbane Building Company, was finished in 1976. The west glass wall of the building is used for the installation of airplanes, functioning as a giant door.
History of National Air and Space Museum
The history of the National Air and Space Museum started in 1946, when Congress created the National Air Museum as a part of the Smithsonian Institution. It was first located in the Arts & Industries building at the Mall and later in the Washington Armory.
In 1966, in the midst of the ‘Space Race’ between the United States and the Soviet Union, the name of the museum was changed to National Air and Space Museum to reflect the growing importance of its space travel-related collection. To accommodate its constantly growing collection of air planes and spacecraft, a new 200,000 sq ft/18,500 sq m building was constructed at the National Mall. The modern and spacious building, designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum opened July 1st, 1976. It was immensely popular from the start, attracting more than 10 million visitors a year.
Architecture of National Air and Space Museum
Because of the museum’s close proximity to the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian wanted a building that would be architecturally impressive but would not stand out too boldly against the Capitol building. St. Louis-based architect Gyo Obata of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum designed the museum as four simple marble-encased cubes containing the smaller and more theatrical exhibits, connected by three spacious steel-and-glass atria which house the larger exhibits such as missiles, airplanes and spacecraft. The mass of the museum is similar to the National Gallery of Art across the National Mall, and uses the same pink Tennessee marble as the National Gallery. Built by Gilbane Building Company, the museum was completed in 1976. The west glass wall of the building is used for the installation of airplanes, functioning as a giant door. Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum also designed the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
Controversies
Controversy erupted in March 1994 over a proposed commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan. The centerpiece of the exhibit was the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the A-bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Veterans’ groups, led by the Air Force Association and The Retired Officers Association, argued strongly that the exhibit’s inclusion of Japanese accounts and photographs of victims politicized the exhibit and insulted U.S. airmen. Also disputed was the predicted number of U.S. casualties that would have resulted from an invasion of Japan, had that been necessary, after the museum director, Martin O. Harwit, unilaterally reduced the figure by 75% on January 9, 1995, at the height of the dispute Travel Guides in USA. On January 18 the American Legion called for a congressional investigation of the matter, and on January 24, 1995, 81 members of Congress called for Harwit’s resignation. Harwit was forced to resign on May 2. Although the exhibit was “radically reduced” and criticized by the New York Times as “the most diminished display in Smithsonian history,” the Air and Space Museum placed the forward fuselage of the Enola Gay and other items on display as part of a non-political historical exhibition. Within a year, it had drawn more than a million visitors, making it the most popular special exhibition in the history of the NASM, and when the exhibition closed in May 1998, it had drawn nearly four million visitors.
On October 8, 2011, the museum was temporarily closed after demonstrators associated with the Occupy D.C. demonstration attempted to enter the museum. Some protesters were peppered sprayed by museum security after a guard was pinned against a wall. One woman was arrested.