Smithsonian Board Sets Arts and Industries Building as Home for National Museum of the American Latino

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on August 31 to designate the Arts and Industries Building—its second-oldest structure, built in 1881 and located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum on the National Mall—as the permanent site for the National Museum of the American Latino. By selecting a building owned by the Smithsonian, the institution can avoid the congressional approval that would be required for a new site on National Park Service land.

The Straits TimesSmithsonian Latino Museum to Move to Arts & Industries Building · City Cast DC New York Times

Congress authorized the museum in December 2020, and a temporary exhibition space opened at the National Museum of American History in 2022.

The Straits Times

The retrofit of the Arts and Industries Building is projected to cost roughly $1 billion, according to reporting by The Straits Times. The museum’s budget has faced setbacks; President Donald Trump’s executive budget removed dedicated funding for the museum and instead proposed a decentralized Smithsonian Latino Center that would present exhibitions across existing museums.

The Straits Times

• The Smithsonian’s statement announced that the board’s vote “concludes the site-selection process” and sets the Arts and Industries Building as the museum’s “permanent home.”

Smithsonian Latino Museum to Move to Arts & Industries Building · City Cast DC

• “Today marks a major milestone in a dream and effort of decades in the making,” — Jorge Zamanillo, the museum’s director

New York Times

• “The National Museum of the American Latino will help us continue that work by broadening our understanding of the American experience and bringing new voices and perspectives to the forefront,” — Lonnie Bunch. Bunch, secretary

Smithsonian Latino Museum to Move to Arts & Industries Building · City Cast DC