Arts & Industries Building - Washington DC

The Arts and Industries Building (AIB) is the second oldest structure of the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, the building opened in 1881 as the United States National Museum, serving as the Smithsonian's first dedicated space for public exhibitions. Its inaugural event was a ball celebrating President James A. Garfield. Architecturally, the AIB is a prime example of 19th-century world's fair design, featuring a symmetrical layout with a central rotunda and four corner pavilions. The exterior showcases polychrome brickwork and is adorned with the sculpture Columbia Protecting Science and Industry by Caspar Buberl above the main entrance. The interior is illuminated by skylights and clerestory windows, with an iron truss roof spanning the structure. ​Currently, the Arts and Industries Building is “temporarily” closed, but that’s been since 2004. Most sources say there is a planned reopening by 2028, but I cannot find anything concrete as to what use it will be put.