Historic Building Tour

Location: the Museum’s ground floor. Executive Director Chase Rynd welcomes you to the National Building Museum’s historic home. Listen for the chime at the end of each tour stop; you’ll receive brief directions to the next stop. Also refer to the printed maps available at the information desk. Look for the numbered, red markers as you walk the building - these indicate a stop.

Location: 5th Street entrance. National Building Museum curator Chrysanthe Broikos sheds light on the spectacular Great Hall, the heart of the Museum and its activities.

Location: ground floor, G Street entrance. The enormous, ornate columns that dominate the Museum’s Great Hall are explained by senior vice president and curator Martin Moeller.

Location: elevator to third floor. Dr. Cynthia Field, a National Building Museum founder, examines the unique urns which line the upper floors. She also discusses the intriguing busts found in the upper cornice niches.

Location: third floor, stairs on the 5th Street side.Museum docent Jim Carr looks at Meigs’ unique design for the building’s stairways as well as a sample of Caspar Buberl’s Civil War frieze.

Location: second floor, southwest corner. Former tours coordinator Linda Lyons explains the Pension Commissioner’s Suite on the third floor of the building.

Location: second floor, F Street side stairs/elevator. Teen intern Jasmine Marr reveals the mystery behind a column with a missing piece on the second floor of the building.

Location: view from the second floor. National Building Museum docent Kim Toufectis explains a truly unique feature of the former Pension Building - an anachronistic metal track ringing the upper floor’s administrative office area.

Location: outside the building, opposite the G Street entrance. Curator Susan Piedmont Palladino discusses the brick exterior of the National Building Museum.

Location: outside, opposite the 5th Street entrance. Jessie Cochran, development events manager at the National Building Museum, shares the stories of the unique frieze encircling the building and the sculptures adorning the lawn.

Thank you for visiting the National Building Museum and learning more about its historic building. Visit our website to learn more about current programs, exhibitions, and activities.