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Some pieces of history that rarely have been on display are now easy to see and enjoy in D.C.
And your favorite childhood toy might be among the artifacts on display at the National Building Museum.
It’s all part of the museum’s new exhibit called Visible Vault that opens on Saturday, Dec. 14.
Nancy Bateman said the display permanently showcases 2,500 artifacts, from the museum’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of history.
“So many of these things have never been on display before,” said Bateman, senior registrar and director of collections for the museum.
Bateman said the Visible Vault features many different kinds of artifacts “that were either too sensitive to put on display, too large to put on display.”
Many of those sensitive items are vintage toys like the Petite Princess collection from the 1960s, she said.
“A lot of our dollhouse pieces are so small and so intricate, that we’re now able to put into drawers that you can open up and get really up close and see them,” Bateman said.
Another toy highlight is an early example of Lincoln Logs designed by John Lloyd Wright, son of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
In addition to the toys, there is an entire room of tools from various building trades from different eras, as well as architectural fragments of famous structures like the Carnegie Mansion and Washington National Cathedral.