The National Building Museum joins a handful of other museums in D.C. that are reopening to the public.
The museum, at 401 F St. NW, will open April 9 after closing 16 months ago, originally for restoration work, but then because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The museum has also named a new president and executive director: Aileen Fuchs, currently the president and CEO of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden on Staten Island, New York. She replaces Chase Rynd, who retired last June. The museum has been led by interim executive director Brent Glass since Rynd’s retirement.
None of the Smithsonian museums in the District are currently open, with the exception of the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden and Enid A. Haupt Garden.
Planet Word, D.C.’s newest museum, in the historic Franklin School building, will reopen April 1. Other museums already open include the International Spy Museum, Museum of the Bible, National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Phillips Collection.
The National Building Museum, dedicated to architecture, landscaping and everything related to buildings, opened in 1980 in the Pension Building, which was originally built in the 1880s to serve Union veterans after the Civil War. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, with COVID-19 restrictions, including mask requirements and visitor capacity, in effect.
