Washington
The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, housed in the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, is undergoing a $211 million renovation. Slated for completion in 2006, the facility has been closed and under construction since January 2000. Including physical plant renewal and extensive exterior and interior work, the project will add a conservation lab and a gilding frame shop, both visible to the public, as well as a 346-seat below-grade auditorium. An additional 60,000 sf of gallery and public space will be obtained by relocation of the library and the majority of museum staff to the Victor Building one block away.
