Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery

The museum building, originally the Patent Office Building, was slated for demolition but was saved when Congress transferred ownership to the Smithsonian in 1957. It now houses both the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery which are on opposite ends of the building with an elaborate hallway in between. We visited the art museum only.

  American art from the colonial period to the present is featured on three floors with a forth floor mezzanine of visible art storage.   Highlights include large collections of New Deal art and folk art.

               
      
  The museum is accessible. Look for the ramps on both sides of the 8th and G Streets NW entrance.

  We did not attempt to find parking close to the museum. Instead we parked as usual on one of the street around the National Mall and walked/rolled the 1/2 mile up the hill to the museum. On most streets the fee is $2.00 an hour payable by credit card or phone app and and limited to three hours. The spaces are not marked with lines so RVs fees are the same as car fees.  Museum  38.89812, -77.02308