Patents and Portraits

The grand reopening of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum this July will showcase the completed renovation of the old Patent Office Building, now known as The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Praised by Walt Whitman as "the noblest of Washington buildings," it is the third federal building built in Washington. Various agencies besides the Patent Office have called the building home, including the Interior Department and several military departments.

In a press conference Thursday, Marc Pachter, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said he believes that the opening of the renovated building will be "one of the most spectacular occasions in the cultural life of Washington for many years to come."--Daniel Pulliam