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Smithsonian Regents Approve Arts and Industries Latino Museum Conversion

9/1/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The Smithsonian Board of Regents approved converting the Arts and Industries Building into the National Museum of the American Latino.
$1 billion retrofit cost creates financing hurdle, per The New York Times.
President Donald Trump’s budget removed museum funding and proposed a decentralized Smithsonian Latino Center instead.
Congress authorized the museum in December 2020, and it opened a space at the National Museum of American History in 2022.

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Story summary

The Smithsonian Board of Regents approved converting the Arts and Industries Building into the National Museum of the American Latino.
$1 billion retrofit cost creates financing hurdle, per The New York Times.
President Donald Trump’s budget removed museum funding and proposed a decentralized Smithsonian Latino Center instead.
Congress authorized the museum in December 2020, and it opened a space at the National Museum of American History in 2022.